THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

Irchitecture 

BEQUEST 

OF 

ANITA  D.  S.  BLAKE 


Bridge  of  AUanuu  a,    Toledo. 

PHOTOGRAVURE. 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 


BY 


CLARA  CRAWFORD  PERKINS 


ILLUSTRATED 


TIVO    VOLUMES 
IN    ONE 


NEW  YORK 

HENRY    HOLT   AND    COMPANY 
1911 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/buildersofspainOOperkrich 


T" 


PREFACE 

HAT  Its  native  stock  has  produced  no 
■        rulers,    and    that    from    even    before    the 

"^  dawn  of  history  It  has  been  continuously 
ruled  by  alien  peoples  who  have  successively 
stamped  their  own  Individuality  upon  It,  Is  the 
most  striking  fact  In  the  long  perspective  of 
the  changeful  and  varied  history  of  the  Spanish 
peninsula. 

Beginning  with  Geryon,  who,  Mariana  tells  us, 
was  accounted  by  Greek  and  Latin  authors  the 
first  king  of  Spain,  and  whose  name,  he  also  says, 
was  Chaldean  for  stranger,  we  read  of  Invasion 
after  invasion;  of  Celtic,  Phoenician,  Carthaginian, 
Roman,  Vandalic,  VIsIgothIc,  Moorish  and  Arabic 
conquest  and  domination.  The  numbers  of  these 
Invading  hosts  are  now  generally  conceded  to 
have  been  relatively  small  as  compared  with  the 
native  population;  furthermore,  its  aboriginal  stock 
has  been  the  only  permanent  force  in  the  history 
of  the  peninsula.  But  the  native  Spaniard  was 
lacking  In  initiative  and  leadership,  and  each  alien 
people  In  turn  has  left  the  Impress  of  its  char- 
acter upon  the  civilization  of  Its  period,  and  upon 
the  cities  which  were  their  chief  monuments. 

Much  has  been  lost  through  the  vicissitudes  of 


PREFACE 

time,  and  even  In  their  own  day  all  the  conquerors 
of  Spain  could  not  have  occupied  a  position  of  equal 
Importance  In  her  history.  But,  beginning  with 
the  Roman  period,  the  first  of  profound  and  en- 
during Importance  In  the  development  of  the  pen- 
insula, the  record  of  Spanish  civilization  falls  nat- 
urally Into  the  four  great  and  contrasting  epochs 
of  her  greatest  rulers — those  of  the  rule  of  Rome, 
206  B.  C.-417  A.  D. ;  of  the  Visigoths,  417- 
711;  of  the  Arabs  and  Moors,  711-1492;  and  of 
the  Christian  kings,   1492-^ — / 

With  the  Spaniards  as  an  underlying  force, 
these  are  the  peoples  who,  in  a  special  sense,  have 
been  the  Builders  of  Spain,  and  It  Is  with  them 
that  this  book  Is  chiefly  concerned.  The  series  of  cities 
whose  study  forms  the  larger  portion  of  the  work, 
have  been  chosen  as  representing  distinct  develop- 
ments. Four  of  the  first  five  have  enjoyed  periods 
of    pan-peninsular    Influence,    and    many    of    them 


1  The  rule  of  the  Christian  kings  actually  began  with  a  tiny  prin- 
cipality in  the  north  as  early  as  718,  from  which  date  the  develop- 
ment of  Christian  civilization,  so  called,  was  contemporaneous  with 
that  of  the  Moslems,  the  one  in  the  north,  the  other  in  the  south. 
But  in  the  above  broad  divisions  it  is  found  more  convenient  to 
date  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  period  from  the  completion 
of  their  reconquest  of  the  entire  peninsula. 

It  may  also  be  explained  that  the  names  Christian  and  Spanish, 
which  came  to  be  interchangeable,  began  to  be  applied,  after  the 
Moslem  conquest,  to  all  the  earlier  inhabitants  of  Spain,  to  dis- 
tinguish them  from  the  invaders,  who,  to  the  earlier  inhabitants, 
were  strangers  and  heathen. 

vi 


PREFACE 

to-day  are  among  the  most  Important  towns  in 
Spain;  yet  the  chief  interest  of  their  historic  mon- 
uments— the  most  tangible  results  left  us  of  earliei 
civilizations — must  always  lie  In  the  life  and  char^ 
acter  which   produced  them. 

To  the  end  that  this  life  and  character  should 
be  more  easily  arfd  clearly  understood,  the  earlier 
chapters  have  been  devoted  to  the  consideration, 
first  of  the  native  stock,  and  then  of  the'  alien 
peoples,  with  the  cultures  introduced  by  them  Into 
the  peninsula.  The  complexity  of  the  subject  is 
evident  at  a  glance,  but  Its  treatment  has  been 
made  as  broad  as  Is  consistent  with  the  detail  nec- 
essary to  vitality  of  interest;  and  the  general  trend 
of  great  movements,  rather  than  the  lesser  streams 
of  minor  developments,  has  been  constantly  borne 
in  mind.  In  order  that  these  movements  should 
be  fully  comprehended.  It  has  been  found  neces- 
sary, In  some  Instances,  to  trace  them  from  their 
beginnings.  It  follows,  therefore,  that  the  earlier 
portion  of  the  book  takes  the  form  of  a  series 
of  studies,  each  starting  from  a  fresh  point  of 
view;  but  in  a  work  whose  main  purpose  is  an 
understanding  of  the  strongly  contrasting  influ- 
ences which,  in  the  hot  cauldron  of  Spanish  life 
have  been  fused  into  the  vivid  product  of  pen- 
insular civilization,  there  has  seemed  to  be  no 
other  way. 

The    unreliability    of    most    early    Spanish    his- 

vii 


PREFACE 

torians  is  well  known.  Even  more  than  elsewhere 
In  Europe,  chronicles  of  mediaeval  life  are  biased 
by  a  partisan  spirit,  or  rendered  of  questionable 
value  by  the  easy  credulity  of  those  who  tran- 
scribed them.  When  we  come  to  the  conflicting 
accounts  of  contemporary  Christian  and  Arab 
writers,  each  of  whom  was  chiefly  Inspired  with 
a  desire  to  outdo  the  other  in  magnifying  the 
prowess  or  extolling  the  accomplishments  of  his 
own  people,  the  contradictoriness  of  the  result 
may  be  imagined.  Such  authorities  must  always 
be  quoted  with  suspicion.  But  when,  as  in  this 
case,  they  often  serve  as  the  sole  source  of  Infor- 
mation, and  furnish  the  only  possible  local  colour 
and  personal  Interest,  they  must  be  accepted,  at 
least  as  representing  conditions  and  tendencies, 
and  frequently,  also,  as  preserving,  which  they 
doubtless  do,   some  proportion  of   fact. 

A  constant  source  of  confusion  to  the  student 
of  the  Moslem  period,  Is  the  spelling  of  Arabic 
names.  There  is  absolutely  no  authority  for  their 
translation,  and  each  historian  has  followed  his 
own  ideas.  Most  systems  are  supposed  to  be 
phonetic,  but  the  results  are  as  various  as  there 
have  been  writers  to  originate  them.  In  this  book 
the  rule  has  been  to  adopt  the  simplest  forms,  or, 
as  far  as  possible,  those  which  are  most  com- 
monly accepted  and  most  readily   recognized. 

viii 


CONTENTS 

Vol.  I 

Prologue.    The    Spaniards:     Pre-Roman    Civi- 
lization   o        .  I 

CHAPTER 

I.  The   Romans 17 

II.  The  Visigoths 26 

III.  The  Arabs  and  Moors 58 

IV.  The  Moslems  in  Spain 90 

V.  The  Christian  Kings.    Pelayo.   Henry  V.  118 

VI.  The    Christian    Kings.     Ferdinand   and 

Isabella         139 

VII.  The  Christian  Kings.     Charles  I.    (V.). 

Philip   II 152 

VIII.  The  Christian  Kings.   Philip  III.    Philip 

IV 165 

IX.  The  Christian  Kings.   The  Bourbons     .  179 

X.  Toledo 197 

XL  Toledo    {Continued) 238 

XII.  Cordova        280 


IX 


CONTENTS 

Vol.  II 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XIII.  Cordova  (Continued) i 

XIV.  Seville 34 

XV.  Granada        84 

XVI.  Granada   (Continued) Ill 

XVII.  Madrid 147 

XVIII.  The     Northern     Frontier:     Santiago, 

Leon 171 

XIX.  Old  Castile:  Burgos^  Salamanca,  Val- 

LADOLiD 192 

XX.  Saragossa  AND  Aragon        223 

XXI.  The  East  Coast:  Barcelona,  Valencia  245 


LIST    OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 

Vol.  I 

PAGE 

Bridge  of  Alcantara,  Toledo.     Photogravure    .     .    Frontispiece 

Section  of  Screen,  Capilla  Mayor.     Cathedral,  Toledo   .     .  8 

San   Gregorio,   Valladolid.     Fagade lo 

Court,    Palacio   del    Infantado,   Guadalajara 12 

Roman  Aqueduct,  Segovia 22 

Palacio  Pedro  el  Cruel,  Toledo no 

Screen  of  Coro.     Cathedral,  Toledo    ........  134 

Figure  of  Isabella,  Granada.     Altar  of  Chapel  Royal   .      .  138 

Figure  of  Ferdinand,  Granada.     Altar  of  Chapel  Royal  .      .  144 

Charles    V.     Titian.     Museo    del    Prado,    Madrid      ...  152 

Empress  Isabella.     Titian.     Museo  del  Prado,  Madrid  .     .  154 

Philip  II.     Titian.     Museo  del   Prado,   Madrid    ....  158 

Mary  Tudor.     Moro.  Museo  del  Prado,  Madrid   ....  160 

Philip  IV.  Velasquez.  Museo  del  Prado,  Madrid  .  .  .  164 
Infante    Carlos    Baltasar.     Velasquez.      Museo    del    Prado, 

Madrid        170 

Las  Meninas.     Velasquez.     Museo  del  Prado,  Madrid   .      .  172 

Infanta  Maria  Therese.     Velasquez.     Louvre 174 

Charles  IV.     Goya.     Museo  del  Prado,  Madrid    ....  186 

Marie  Louise.  Goya.  Museo  del  Prado,  Madrid  ....  190 
Palacio   San  Telmo,   Seville.     Main   Entrance    (Churrigue- 

resque    Ornament) 194 

xi 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Toledo.     View    from    Southeast 196 

Puerta  del  Sol,  Toledo 246 

Sta.  Maria  la  Blanca,  Toledo 248 

Cathedral,  Toledo.     Nave  Looking  West.     Interior  of  Coro 

in    Foreground 250 

Capilla    Mayor,    Cathedral,    Toledo 254 

Chapel    Santiago.      Cathedral,    Toledo 258 

Heraldic  Ornament.    San  Juan  de  los  Reyes,  Toledo  .     .      .  260 

Cloister,  San  Juan  de  los  Reyes,  Toledo 262 

Hospital  Sta.  Cruz,  Toledo.    Main  Portal 264 

Marianne  of  Austria.    Velasquez.    Museo  del  Prado,  Madrid  276 

Vista  in  Mosque,  Cordova 280 

Mosque,  Cordova.     Exterior  of  Enclosing  Wall   ....  298 

Vol.  II 

Casa    de     Pilatos,     Seville.      Entrance     to    Court.     Photo- 
gravure         Frontispiece 

Arch   of   Mirab,    Mosque,   Cordova 20 

Arabesque  from  Mirab.     Panel  of  Portal,  Mosque,  Cordova  24 

Giralda,    Seville 44 

Alcazar,    Seville.     Patio   de   las   Mufiecas.      (Court   of  the 

Dolls.)         66 

View   Across   Aisles.     Cathedral,    Seville 72 

Vaults  at  Crossing.     Cathedral,  Seville 74 

The  Alhambra  and  Granada.     From  the  Albayzin    ...  84 

Exterior  View  of  Walls  and  Towers,  Alhambra  ....  90 

Little   Mosque,  Alhambra,     Looking  toward  the  Generalife  100 

Salon  of  the  Abencerrajes,  Alhambra.      Stalactite  Pendcntives  102 
Window    of    Lindaraja,    Alhambra.      Looking   into    Garden 

of  Lindaraja 108 

Garden  of  Lindaraja,  Alhambra no 

Court  of  Lions,  Alhambra 120 

Puerta  de  Justicia,  Alhambra 132 

xii 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 


The  Alhambra  and  Palace  of  Charles  V.    Birds-eye  View  .  142 

Gallery   of    Charles    V.,    Alhambra 144 

Royal    Palace,    Madrid 146 

Alcazar    (Old   Castle),    Segovia 182 

Cathedral,    Leon.      West    Front 188 

Cathedral,  Burgos.     West  Front 198 

Cathedral,  Burgos.     View  across  Transept 202 

Chapel  of  the  Constable.     Cathedral,  Burgos 206 

Stairway   inside   Portal,    North    Transept.      (Scala   d'Oro), 

Cathedral,    Burgos 208 

Apse   and   Cupola,   Old    Cathedral,    Salamanca.     Tower   of 

New  Cathedral  in  Background 210 

University,  Salamanca.     (Plateresque  Ornament.     Detail  of 

Facade) 212 

Renaissance  Stairway,  University,  Salamanca 214 

Torre    del    Clavero,    Salamanca 216 

San   Pablo,  Valladolid.     Fagade 218 

Exterior  of  Apse.    Cathedral  (La  Seo),  Saragossa      .     .     .  222 

Torre    Nueva,    Saragossa 242 

Arms  of  Charles  V.     From  Chapel,  Escorial 260 


Xlll 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 
VOL.  I 


PRO  L  O  GU  E 

THE  SPANIARDS 

PRE-ROMAN  CIVILIZATION 

HISTORIANS  have  long  agreed  In  giv- 
ing the  name  Iberian  to  the  peoples 
who  at  the  dawn  of  history  were  In 
possession  of  the  Spanish  peninsula;  and  most 
ethnologists  now  declare  that  the  Iberians  were 
of  that  great  Mediterranean  race  found  in  the 
earliest  times  all  the  way  from  the  latitude  of  the 
Pyrenees  to  that  of  the  desert  of  the  Sahara,  and 
from  the  Pillars  of  Hercules  to  the  Bosporus. 
It  Is  not  doubted  by  authorities  to-day  that  the 
basin  of  the  Mediterranean  has  changed  materially 
since  the  last  glacial  period,  and  that  Europe  and 
Africa  were  once  united  at  one  or  more  points. 
Even  separated  as  they  now  are  by  the  great  sea, 
— "that  Mid-sea  that  moans  with  memories'' — 
the  essential  unity  of  the  great  basin  Is  readily 
recognized.  It  is  frequently  said  that  Europe  be- 
gins at  the  northern  boundary  of  the  Sahara,  or, 
that  all  Is  Africa  south  of  the  Pyrenees.  The 
population  of  such  a  region  by  a  similar  and  hom- 
ogeneous race,  therefore,  Is  a  fact  so  natural,  al- 
most Inevitable,  that  it  scarcely  needs  confirmation 

I 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

by  sclelice;  and  the  racial  likeness  of  Iberians, 
Provencals,  Italians,  iEgeans,  Greeks,  Numldlans, 
and  Berbers,  as  established  by  recent  investiga- 
tion, serves  simply  as  its  confirmation. 

The  varied  development  of  the  Mediterranean 
race  has  produced  a  number  of  great  nations,  and 
some  of  the  most  vital  chapters  in  the  growth 
of  modern  civilization.  Most  of  these  chapters 
are  well-known  history,  but  the  origin  of  the  race 
still  remains  a  matter  for  speculation.  Although 
considered  by  the  majority  of  ethnologists  as 
scarcely  tenable,  the  suggestion  of  a  recent  author- 
ity— that  the  Mediterranean  race  may  have  been 
the  primal  race  all  over  Europe,  and  that  the 
Teutonic  peoples  were  bleached  and  developed 
into  their  greater  stature  by  their  northern  en- 
vironment— opens  up  a  most  suggestive  field  for 
thought.  But  the  trend  of  recent  investigation 
points  instead  to  an  African  origin,  or  at  least 
to  an  early  racial  relationship  between  the  Medi- 
terranean race  and  certain  African  peoples.  A 
lost  island  to  the  east  of  Africa  is  thought  by 
some  to  have  been  the  original  home  of  this  race; 
further,  that  offshoots  from  It  are  to  be  found  to- 
day in  the  Tamil-speaking  peoples  of  southeastern 
India  and  in  certain  tribes  of  Oceanica  and  Cen- 
tral America.  So  far  back,  of  course,  we  may 
only  speculate,  but  there  are  facts  In  support  of 
the    African     relationship     which,     owing    to     the 


THE  SPANIARDS 

marked  preservation  of  aboriginal  traits  in  the 
Iberic  stock,  as  established  by  recent  scientific  In- 
vestigation/ must  largely  depend  upon  Spain  for 
their    confirmation. 

Coupled  with  the:  Iberians  are  the  Kabyl  tribes 
of  the  Atlas  Mountains,  whose  close  racial  rela- 
tionship to  the  native  Spaniards  Is  recognized  by 
all  authorities  to-day,  and  who  likewise  have  pre- 
served to  a  striking  degree  their  primitive  traits. 
These  two  peoples,  therefore,  the  Iberians  on  the 
north  of  the  Straits,  and  the  Kabyls  to  the  south 
of  them,  represent  the  most  primitive  type  of  the 
Mediterranean  race  remaining  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  great  basin;  and  It  Is  fairly  startling  to  find 
their  head  forms  practically  the  same  as  those  of 
a  number  of  distinctively  African  peoples,  notably 
the  Hausa  and  Bantu  tribes.  All  are  dolicho- 
cephalic, or  long  headed,  and  while  the  head  of 
the  modern  Spaniard  has  broadened  very  slightly 
in  comparison  with  the  crania  taken  from  pre- 
historic caves  and  barrows,  the  latter,  the  pre- 
historic crania,  show  an  almost  absolutely  negroid 
long  headedness.  The  Spaniard,  like  the  African, 
has  dark  or  black  hair,  and  dark  eyes;  and, 
while   the   African    has   black   skin,    the    Mediter- 


^  Ripley  tells  us  that  the  population  of  the  Spanish  peninsula  is  the 
most  homogeneous  of  any  country  in  Europe  of  like  extent,  and 
further,  that  it  more  nearly  preserves  its  aboriginal  type  than  any 
civilized  land  on  the  continent. 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

ranean  is  of  a  decidedly  brunette  type,  growing 
darker  toward  the  south.  The  height  varies  in 
both  races  according  to  environment,  but  both 
are  slender.  The  hair  of  the  African  is  more 
curly  than  that  of  any  other  nation,  and  that  of 
the  pure-blooded  Spaniard  is  flat  in  section  and 
inclined   to    curl.- 

The  marked  preservation  of  primitive  traits 
among  all  the  above  peoples  indicates  a  lack  of 
Intermixture  which,  in  every  case,  appears  to  have 
proceeded  primarily  from  racial  characteristics. 
Among  the  African  peoples  an  inherent  tribal 
aloofness  has  been  strengthened  by  natural  condi- 
tions, chief  among  which  is  a  lack  of  harbours  in 
proportion  to  their  coast  line,  entailing  scanty  inter- 
communication with  other  peoples. 

In  Spain  an  exactly  opposite  geographical  con- 
dition is  found.  Owing  to  its  position,  the  Span- 
ish peninsula  was  for  centuries  the  chief  highway 
between  Europe  and  Africa.  It  was,  therefore, 
continually  overrun  by  invading  and  migratory 
peoples,  and  that  racial  heterogenlty  has  not  re- 
sulted is  so  surprising  as  to  be  almost  unbeliev- 
able. Homogenity  In  Spain,  therefore,  must  be 
attributed  entirely  to  inherent  racial  characteristics. 
We  recall  at  once  that  Spanish  pride  has  been  a 
proverb  for  hundreds  of  years;  that  all  through 
its  history  pride  has  been  recognized  by  historians 

2  Curly  hair  is  always  flat  in  cross  section. 
4 


THE  SPANIARDS 

as  the  most  pronounced  mental  characteristic  of 
the  entire  peninsula;  and  pride  of  blood  Is  one  of 
the  most  potent  causes  known  of  racial  purity. 
Furthermore,  in  Spain,  we  find  the  inevitable  re- 
sult of  homogenity,  in  dwindling  physique,  lack  of 
Initiative,   and  poverty  of  mental   fertility. 

Cross  fertilization  has  been  proved  to  be  abso- 
lutely essential  to  development  and  progress  in 
both  the  natural  and  animal  world,  and  through 
lack  of  It,  not  only  the  native  African,  but  the 
native  Spaniard,  In  a  lesser  degree,  has  stunted 
his  mental  growth  as  well  as  his  physical  develop- 
ment. An  African  race  of  pure  blood  has  never 
produced  a  poet,  an  artist,  a  great  ruler,  or  a 
great  nation;  has  never  developed  a  great  religion 
or  a  civilization;  and  a  recent  authority  predicts 
that  no  great  degree  of  progress  will  ever  be 
possible.  The  history  of  Spain  likewise  shows 
that  the  native  Iberian  has  never  developed  un- 
aided either  a  nationality  or  a   culture. 

In  addition  to  the  physical  and  mental  affinities 
found  among  certain  African  peoples  and  the  na- 
tive stock  of  the  Spanish  peninsula,  there  are  also 
many  striking  similarities  of  customs  and  tradi- 
tions which  are  traceable  to  the  same  racial  pur- 
ity. Pride  of  blood  always  engenders  tribal  jeal- 
ousy, and  tribal  jealousy  produces  a  spirit  of  local 
independence,  and  conduces  to  the  formation  of 
petty  states   rather    than   the   development   of  the 

5 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

broader  spirit  of  unity.  It  is  a  well-known  fact 
that  the  Kabyl  tribesmen  have  successfully  resisted 
for  thousands  of  years  all  attempts  to  unite  or 
subject  them  to  a  uniform  dominion.  ^  A  racial 
likeness  has  long  been  recognized  between  the 
Kabyls  and  ancient  Egyptians,  but  it  has  only  re- 
cently been  known  that  In  the  earliest  times  like 
social  conditions  existed  among  the  latter.  The 
Berbers  are  usually  recognized  as  forming  the 
connecting  link  between  the  Iberians  and  the 
Kabyls,  Hausas,  and  native  Egyptians;  and  with 
them,  also,  we  find  a  marked  preservation  of 
tribal  jealousy,  and  a  division  into  a  number  of 
petty  and  independent  states.  Finally,  the  Iberian 
Spaniards,  from  the  dawn  of  history  even  to  the 
present  day,  have  displayed  as  their  chief  char- 
acteristic the  same  indomitable  Independence. 
Their  organization,  like  that  of  the  Atlas  peoples, 
has  always  been  clannish  and  tribal,  and  in  spite 
of  centuries  of  alien  domination,  with  a  consequent 
forced  centralization  of  power,  it  still  remains  true 
that  every  pure-blooded  Spaniard  gives  his  first 
allegiance  to  his  town,  his  second  to  his  province, 
and  last  of  all  to  his  state. 

This  regional  independence  has  undoubtedly 
been  accentuated  in  the  peninsula  by  its  physical 
conformation.  Local  jealousies  are  always  perpetu- 
ated, and  petty  states  built  up,   by  a  surface  split 

s  Hume. 

6 


THE   SPANIARDS 

up  by  mountain  ranges  Into  numerous  small  di- 
visions; and  more  than  any  country  In  Europe, 
Spain  has  suffered  all  through  her  history  from 
disunion  and  consequent  Intestine  strife.  In  fact, 
the  entire  peninsula  has  never  been  united  under 
one  rule.  Even  now,  besides  the  independence  of 
Portugal  which  deprives  Spain  of  most  of  her 
western  coast,  her  union  with  the  provinces  In  the 
extreme  north  is  little  more  than  nominal;  and  the 
frequent  outbreaks  In  Catalonia  are  nothing  less 
than  ebullitions  of  the  same  old  spirit  of  local  in- 
dependence, and  renewals  of  the  same  old  effort 
to  throw  off  the  yoke  of  the  centralized  power. 

The  foregoing  racial  tendencies  and  physical  en- 
vironment account  for  much  of  the  backwardness 
of  development  of  the  native  Spaniards,  but  to 
them  must  be  added  the  depression  resulting  from 
the  frequent  and  heavy  oppression  of  their  alien 
rulers.  The  primitive  Iberians  were  great  fight- 
ers. No  sooner  were  they  overcome,  therefore, 
than  they  were  pressed  into  the  ranks  of  conquer- 
ing armies.  The  Spanish  soldiers  were  the  most 
valued  of  the  legions  of  Rome,  and  among  the 
most  numerous;  and  Rome  was  always  at  war, 
sending  her  armies  all  over  the  then  known  world 
to  fight  the  battles  of  the  Empire.  As  an  able- 
bodied  legionary  rarely  returned  home,  it  is  a 
question  whether  there  remained  in  Spain  at  the 
close   of   the   Roman   period,    any   appreciable   pro- 

7 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

portion    of    the    virile    blood    of    the    old    Iberian 
stock. 

It  would  seem,  then,  that  the  influence  of  the 
native  Spaniard  upon  the  development  of  the  pen- 
insula must  have  been  a  comparatively  negligible 
quantity.  But  preponderance  of  numbers  and 
permanence  of  occupation,  coupled  with  a  strik- 
ing individuality  of  type,  must  Inevitably  produce 
a  profound  and  pervasive  Impression;  and,  al- 
though the  constantly  changing  trend  of  Spanish 
civilization  must  be  ascribed  to  Its  alien  rulers,  the 
native  Iberic  stock  of  the  Spanish  peninsula  must 
be  recognized  as  a  factor  which  has  coloured  and 
modified  much  of  Its  final  expression.  Spanish  lit- 
erature was  founded  In  the  beginning  upon  that 
of  Rome,  but  the  Imagination  and  diction  of  Cer- 
vantes and  Calderon  are  Spanish  and  not  Roman. 
The  Spanish  school  of  painters  followed  the  lead 
of  that  of  Italy,  but,  except  In  the  soft  grace  of 
Murlllo,  there  Is  nothing  Italian  In  any  of  the 
splendid  work  of  the  great  Spaniards,  while  the 
dignity  and  splendour  of  the  greatest  of  them  all, 
Velasquez,  is  the  very  flower  of  a  long  inherit- 
ance of  Spanish  pride.  Again,  while  the  Spanish 
architecture  of  each  period  Is  fundamentally  of 
exotic  styles,  it  Is  also  permeated  to  a  marked 
degree  with  the  personality  of  the  native  IberIc 
stock;  and  it  will  be  conceded  by  all  students  of 
Spanish    archaeology,    that    It    is    the    peculiarities 

8 


Section  of  Screen,  Capilla  Mayor, 

Cathedral.   Toledo. 


THE   SPANIARDS 

which  are  Spanish  In  the  monuments  of  Spain, 
which  constitute  a  large  proportion  of  their  dis- 
tinction and  Interest. 

That  such  qualities  are  everywhere  to  be  found 
must  become  evident  at  once  to  every  student  of 
the  monuments  of  Spain.  Their  very  want  of 
structural  originality  testifies  to  the  chief  limita- 
tion of  the  native  Spaniard — his  lack  of  Initiative. 
But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  magnificence  of  size 
and  splendour  of  ornament  of  many  of  the  great 
monuments  of  Spain  are  the  unmistakable  expression 
of  the  supreme  egoism  of  its  Iberic  stock.  Under 
foreign  leadership  the  Spanish  people  constantly 
aspired  to  rear  the  most  splendid  monuments  in 
Europe;  and,  In  spite  of  their  lack  of  originality 
and  frequent  barbarities  of  style,  they  very  nearly 
succeeded.  In  magnitude  the  Important  monu- 
ments of  Spain  are  scarcely  rivalled  elsewhere  In 
Europe;  and  In  richness  of  ornament  many  of 
them  are  only  comparable  to  the  barbaric  splen- 
dours   of    India. 

It  will  be  seen,  then,  that  the  distinctive  qual- 
ities In  Spanish  architecture  which  are  due  to  the 
native  stock,  and  which  constitute  what  we  may  term 
Its  Spanishness,  must  largely  be  found  in  matters 
of  detail.  That  ornament  is  of  secondary  impor- 
tance, and  should  be  subordinated  to  construction, 
must  always  be  granted;  yet  without  decoration, 
architecture  as  a  Fine  Art  does  not  exist,  and  or- 

9 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

nament  may  make  or  mar  the  most  splendid  con- 
struction. True  ornament  forms  a  vital  union 
with  construction,  and  often  adds  to  barren  walls 
the  breath  of  life,  the  touch  of  individuality.  Its 
study,  therefore,  frequently  becomes  a  matter  of 
primary    importance. 

As  a  record  of  local  Influence  and  native  ten- 
dencies, especially  where  foreign  ascendency  has 
governed  fundamental  principles,  decorative  detail 
frequently  outweighs  construction.  In  the  carved 
ornament  of  historic  temples  Is  found  the  expres- 
sion of  the  life  and  faith,  not  merely  of  a  ruling 
class,  but  of  a  people.  Racial  tendencies,  native 
types,  the  local  flora  and  fauna,  all  are  repro- 
duced; even  the  configuration  of  a  country  is  not 
without  Its  Influence  upon  line  and  composition. 
True  ornament,  therefore,  Is  rarely  other  than  an 
indigenous  growth.  Even  when  modelled  upon  a 
foreign  style,  or  following  traditional  designs,  dec- 
orative detail,  if  rendered  with  life  and  vigour, 
will  be  permeated  with  the  personality  and 
moulded  by  the  environment  of  the  people  by 
whom  It  Is  produced.  That  which  is  vital  and 
Spanish,  therefore.  In  the  architecture  of  Spain, 
is  commonly  limited  to  matters  of  ornamental 
detail. 

It  cannot  be  denied  that  this  local  distinction, 
this  Spanishness,  may  often  be  felt  rather  than  de- 
fined.     Especially    Is    this    true    during    the    early 

10 


San  Gregorio,  Valladolid. 

Fagade. 


THE   SPANIARDS 

years  of  each  period  when  there  is  naturally  a 
closer  following  of  imported  models,  and,  in  many 
cases,  work  was  done  by  imported  workmen.  But 
in  the  later  effort  of  each  movement  is  displayed 
an  increasingly  marked  outcropping  of  native  feel- 
ing and  local  influence.  Then  we  find  a  tendency 
to  excess,  an  exuberance  of  fancy,  and  an  imag- 
ination entirely  unrestrained  by  a  feeling  of  pro- 
priety or  sense  of  organism,  whose  results,  al- 
though triumphantly  picturesque,  are  often  half 
barbaric.  Nowhere  in  Europe  was  the  elaboration 
of  Romanesque  or  Gothic  carving  carried  to  such 
a  degree  of  splendour  as  in  Spain.  The  screen 
of  the  Capilla  Mayor  at  Toledo,  although  want- 
ing the  elegance  of  French  work,  displays  the  ut- 
most limit  of  sculptured  magnificence  in  the 
Gothic  style;  and  the  last  word  in  the  lace-like 
cutting  of  stone  is  attained  in  the  decoration  of 
the  Chapel  of  the  Constable  at  Burgos.  Moreover, 
in  the  latter  the  designs  are  distinctly  unique  and 
bizarre,  and,  to  a  student  of  ornament,  are  un- 
mistakably Spanish. 

Splendid  but  coarse  and  impure  examples  of 
Spanish  decoration  are  found  in  the  overloaded 
convent  at  Belem  in  Portugal;  in  the  Palacio  del 
Infantado  at  Guadalajara;  and  in  the  facades  of 
San  Domingo  at  Salamanca  and  San  Gregorio  at 
Valladolid.  The  great  tree  which  spreads  its 
branches    over    the    latter    is    truly    an    astonishing 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

architectural  decoration,  but  its  richness  of  effect 
and  even  its  barbarisms — undoubtedly  traceable  to 
native  influence — make  a  quick  appeal  to  the  eye 
of  an  artist.  Tried  by  the  usually  accepted 
canons  of  taste,  it  is  grotesque,  but  its  very  ab- 
surdities lend  It  a  sort  of  distinction,  and  It  is 
vigorous  to  the  last  detail. 

In  conclusion,  while  it  cannot  fail  to  be  ad- 
mitted that  the  qualities  in  Spanish  architecture 
which  are  due  to  native  taste  and  local  Influence, 
namely,  exuberance  and  lack  of  discrimination,  are 
those  commonly  found  among  primitive  and  unde- 
veloped peoples,  it  may  not  so  readily  be  granted 
that  in  line  and  composition,  and  In  that  in- 
describable something  that  we  call  style,  Spanish 
decoration  suggests  the  work  of  the  dark-skinned 
peoples  to  some  of  whom  the  Iberians  seem 
strangely  akin.  It  Is  only  necessary,  however,  to 
lay  side  by  side  examples  of  architectural  orna- 
ment produced  by  the  Tamil-speaking  peoples 
of  southeastern  India,  and  those  of  Spain  In 
which  the  Iberian  spirit  Is  most  clearly  displayed, 
to  create  an  Instant  Impression  of  a  relationship 
of  some  kind  between  the  peoples  which  produced 
them.  A  similar  tendency  to  elaborate  and  un- 
related ornamental  design  Is  found  In  Slam,  In 
Oceanica,  and  In  Central  America,  as  well  as,  In 
a  primitive  way,  among  the  ancient  Egyptians.  In 
all  these   cases  we  find  a  population  preserving  a 

12 


^'»i>-crfL';  '  wefer- 


Court,  Palado  del  Infantado,  Guadalajara, 


THE  SPANIARDS 

marked  degree  of  racial  purity;  and  it  is  at  least 
a  curious  fact  that  whenever  the  Spaniards  have 
colonized  in  either  of  the  above  localities  they 
have  intermarried  freely  with  the  native  stock, 
and  have  merged  themselves  into  a  practically 
homogeneous  people,  a  result  never  accomplished 
elsewhere. 

It  is,  however,  the  indefinable  likeness  of  purely 
Spanish  ornament  to  that  of  the  Tamil-speaking 
peoples,  to  which  attention  here  is  especially  In- 
vited. The  writer  is  perfectly  aware  that  nothing 
whatever  can  be  proved  except  the  negative  evi- 
dence which  precludes  the  possibility  of  a  com- 
mon culture.  But  the  haunting  feeling  remains, 
that  purely  Spanish  ornamental  design  has  a 
flavour  of  that  of  southern  India,  and,  to  account 
for  it,  we  are  forced  back  upon  the  hypothesis 
already  suggested,  of  a  common  racial  origin,  or 
at  least  of  an  early  racial  affinity,  between  the 
two  peoples;  a  relationship  which  may  also  In- 
clude certain  tribes  of  Oceanica  and  Central 
America. 

•  •  •  •  • 

The  earliest  Invasion  of  Spain  recognized  by  re- 
liable historians  was  that  of  a  people  long  called 
the  Celts,  a  name  so  variously  understood  and 
applied  by  different  ethnologists  that  a  recent  au- 
thority has  attempted  to  simplify  research  by 
using  the  word  Celt  for  a  culture  instead  of  for  a 

13 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

people,  and  by  designating  the  Spanish  invaders  as 
the  Alpine  race.  But,  however  called,  this  race 
was  distinguished  by  traits  totally  different  from 
those  of  the  Iberians.  They  were  brachycephalic, 
that  is  they  had  round  heads  and  broad  faces, 
with  chestnut  hair,   grey  eyes,   and  stocky  figures. 

Although  the  date  of  the  so-called  Celtic  In- 
vasion of  Spain  Is  not  definitely  known,  the  fact 
has  never  been  doubted.  But  that  the  invaders 
failed  to  dominate,  or  to  Intermingle,  to  any  ap- 
preciable extent,  with  the  native  stock,  is  proved 
by  the  fact  that,  notwithstanding  the  slight  broad- 
ening of  the  head  form  of  the  native  Spaniard, 
and  the  supposed  formation  of  a  mixed  race  In 
the  middle  of  the  peninsula  called  the  Celtiberlans, 
Celtic  traits,  as  the  characteristics  of  any  propor- 
tion of  the  population,  have  long  been  confined  to 
a  few  Isolated  provinces  on  the  northwest  coast. 
There  the  Celtic  Invasion  appears  to  have  en- 
tirely dislodged  the  Iberians,  and  any  return  by  the 
native  stock  was  prevented  by  the  region's  re- 
moteness and  Inaccessibility. 

Following  the  Celtic,  or  Alpine,  race,  came  the 
Phoenicians,  Greeks,  and  Carthaginians,  who  suc- 
cessively invaded  the  peninsula  before  the  coming 
of  the  Romans;  but  no  architectural  monuments 
of  any  Pre-Roman  period  are  known  to  remain  In 
the  Spanish  peninsula.  It  Is  not  improbable  that 
Roman    walls    may    Incorporate    occasional    frag- 

14 


THE  SPANIARDS 

merits  of  earlier  construction,  and  that  the  mounds 
which  now  cover  the  ruins  of  cities  built  by 
Phoenicia,  Greece,  or  Carthage,  may  conceal  valu- 
able remairis,  but  of  Carthaginian,  Greek,  or 
Iberic  work,  nothing  of  distinctive  character  or 
value  has  yet  been  uncovered. 

In  the  domain  of  the  Industrial  Arts,  much 
more  of  Pre-Roman  antiquity  Is  left  to  us,  and, 
although  Spain  Is  as  yet  almost  a  virgin  field  to 
archaeologists,  recent  discoveries  of  work  in  metals 
and  clay  form  a  valuable  source  of  Information 
as  to  Pre-Roman  civilization  In  the  peninsula. 
Dating  from  the  earliest  times,  there  have  been 
found  hatchets  and  other  arms,  with  bracelets, 
and  ornaments,  which  indicate  a  culture  similar 
to  that  found  elsewhere  in  Europe  at  the  same 
period. 

The  first  exotic  Influence  In  Spain,  that  of  the 
so-called  Celts,  Is  seen  In  pottery  dug  up,  within 
comparatively  recent  years,  In  the  vicinity  of 
Seville,  and  also  In  Portugal.  The  vessels  are  of 
clay  ornamented  In  clay  of  a  lighter  tone,  and  the 
geometric  figures  which  form  the  decoration  are 
distinctive    of    Celtic   work. 

In  the  development  of  Spanish  culture,  the 
strongest  early  Influence  was  that  of  Greece.  The 
first  coins  known  to  have  been  struck  In  Spain  are 
called  Greek,  although  they  bear  on  one  side  the 
horse  which  was  the  most  common  Celtiberian  de- 

15 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

vice.  On  the  other  is  the'  name  of  the  Greek  city, 
Emporlas,  sometimes  in  Greek  letters  and  some- 
times in  Iberic  characters.  Large  quantities  of 
Greek  pottery  have  been  found  in  Spain,  much 
of  it  undoubtedly  manufactured  there.  From  the 
earliest  times  the  Greek  city  of  Saguntum  was 
famous  for  its  pottery.  Its  ornamentation,  as 
well  as  that  of  Ivory  combs,  plaques,  and  other 
small  articles,  Is  thought  to  have  profoundly  influ- 
enced the  taste  of  the  native  people,  and,  doubt- 
less, much  of  the  so-called  Greek  work  was  exe- 
cuted by  native  workmen. 

As  Carthage  had  followed  the  lead  of  Greek 
culture  at  home,  her  conquest  of  Spain  continued 
the  influence  of  Greek  traditions  In  the  peninsula, 
only  modified  or  exaggerated  by  Punic  taste.  In 
the  excavations  near  Seville  were  also  found 
bronze  ornaments  and  arms  thought  to  belong  to 
the  Carthaginian  period.  They  bear  characteristic 
Greek  ornament,  together  with  figures  of  winged 
bulls,  combats  of  lions  and  other  oriental  devices.* 

■*  A  most  striking  example  of  the  Carthaginian  period  Is  de- 
scribed by  Riano  as  a  bust  of  a  woman,  sculptured  life  size,  and 
elaborately  dressed  after  the  Carthaginian  fashion.  This  was  found 
in  1897  at  Elche,  near  Alicante,  and  the  same  author  says  that  it 
was  placed  in  the  Louvre,  but  I  failed  to  find  it  there  in  1905. 


16 


Chapter  I 
THE  ROMANS 

THE  Roman  domination  of  Spain  dates 
from  the  siege  and  capture  of  Cadiz 
by  Sclpio  Africanus,  In  206  B.  C.  With 
that  event  the  earlier  rule  of  the  Carthaginians 
was  broken,  and  thereafter  for  six  hundred  years 
Rome  was  the  chief  power  to  be  reckoned  with 
In  the  peninsula.  Of  that  period  two  hundred 
years  were  spent  In  the  frequently  recurring  at- 
tempts of  the  Spaniards  to  expel  their  new  mas- 
ters, and  In  the  almost  constant  warfare  found 
necessary  by  Rome  to  maintain  her  authority.  If 
the  petty  Spanish  states  could  have  presented  a 
united  front,  the  Roman  rule  in  the  peninsula 
might  have  been  limited  to  a  dozen  years.  But  In 
spite  of  the  common  oppression  which  should  have 
formed  a  bond  of  union,  disunion  and  intestine 
strife  continued  to  prevail;  and  not  until  Julius 
Caesar  appeared  was  a  pacification  effected  which 
finally  rendered  Spain  one  of  the  most  loyal  of 
the    colonies    of    Rome. 

As  a  result  of  Caesar's  policy  of  conciliation, 
Spain  in  time  became  the  most  Roman  of  the 
provinces  of  Rome;  and,  during  the  first  two  hun- 

17 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

dred  years  of  our  era,  the  rapid  development  of 
her  material  resources  rendered  her  a  most  im- 
portant factor  in  the  affairs  of  the  Empire.  Learn- 
ing and  the  arts  flourished,  and  so  thoroughly  did 
Spain  adopt  and  assimilate  the  language,  learning, 
and  manners  of  the  Romans,  that,  before  the  close 
of  the  reign  of  Augustus,  Spanish  poets,  Spanish 
teachers,  and  Spanish  rhetoricians  ranked  with 
those  in   Rome. 

But  the  chief  glory  of  Spain  during  the  Roman 
period  lies  in  the  wise'  and  beneficent  reigns  of 
the  so-called  Spanish  emperors.  Trajan  and  Ha- 
drian were  both  born  in  Italica  near  Seville,  and 
because  of  a  Spanish  grandfather,  Marcus  Aurelius 
is  also  called  a  Spaniard.  It  must  not  be  imag- 
ined, however,  that  any  one  of  these  famous  em- 
perors was  of  Spanish  blood.  Trajan  and  Ha- 
drian were  both  born  of  Italian  parents,  and  even 
the  Spanish  grandfather  of  Marcus  Aurelius  was 
of  a  Roman  family  of  high  birth.  But  all  three 
displayed  a  marked  kindness  for  Spain,  and  dur- 
ing the  period  covered  by  their  reigns  (sixty  of 
the  first  eighty  years  of  the  second  century),  not 
only  did  Rome  attain  the  zenith  of  her  power, 
but  Spain  reached  her  highest  early  importance 
and  prosperity.  With  freedom  from  war,  the 
arts  of  peace  flourished.  Spanish  oil,  Spanish 
wine,  Spanish  steel,  and  Spanish  linen  challenged 
comparison  with  the  best  produced  anywhere  else 

i8 


THE   ROMANS 

in  the  world,  and  in  many  cases  attained  an  un- 
rivalled excellence.  Furthermore,  during  these 
years  of  Imperial  favor  were  executed  those 
mighty  works  of  engineering  and  architecture 
whose  remains  to-day  are  among  the  chief  glories 
of   Spain. 

After  the  death  of  Marcus  Aurellus,  the  Roman 
emperors  gave  less  and  less  attention  to  the  affairs 
of  Spain,  and  with  the  decline  of  Rome  came 
also  the  deterioration  of  Roman  Spain.  During 
the  last  two  hundred  years  of  the  Roman  period, 
the  history  of  Spain  presents  little  to  distinguish 
it  from  the  decaying  fortunes  of  the  Empire.  The 
Spaniards,  like  the  Romans,  were  enervated  by 
many  years  of  prosperity.  Like  the  Romans  also, 
the  vices  which  follow  in  the  wake  of  over  re- 
finement left  them  an  easy  prey  to  the  barbarians 
from  the  north,  who,  as  early  as  the  later  years 
of  the  third  century,  began  to  make  Incursions 
into  the  south.  In  Spain,  as  in  Italy,  the  first 
invaders  were  driven  back  into  the  north,  or 
across  into  Africa.  But  the  growing  weakness  of 
the  south  again  and  again  tempted  fresh  invasion. 
From  the  reign  of  Honorius  (395),  the  Roman 
empire  in  Spain  existed  only  on  sufferance.  From 
417,  the  peninsula  was  entirely  overrun  by  bar- 
barians; and  by  466,  Roman  authority  over  any 
part  of  the  peninsula  was  practically  extinguished. 

During  the  later  years  of  the  Roman  period,  the 

19 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

chief  fact  of  interest  to  the  general  student  is 
the  introduction  of  Christianity  into  the  peninsula. 
The  arrival  of  Christian  missionaries  is  claimed 
by  Spanish  historians  as  early  as  the  first  century. 
Tradition  has  long  asserted  that  St.  James  the 
elder  was  the  first  herald  of  the  new  faith,  and 
that  after  his  martyrdom  his  work  was  carried  on 
by  St.  Paul.  But  there  is  no  historical  warrant 
for  the  visit  to  Spain  of  either  apostle,  and  it  is 
only  with  the  Christian  martyrs  of  the  second 
century  that  the  Christian  history  begins  which 
we  may  not   reasonably   doubt. 

During  the  last  years  of  Roman  rule,  the  Chris- 
tian church  became  an  important  factor  in  the 
administration  of  the  Empire;  and  in  its  councils 
the  Spanish  church  won  and  maintained  a  position 
of  eminence.  But  in  Spain,  as  elsewhere,  as  the 
church  was  freed  from  fear  of  persecution,  abuses 
and  heresies  began  to  creep  in,  and  the  investiga- 
tion and  punishment  of  these  heresies  soon  devel- 
oped within  the  church  a  spirit  of  intolerance  even 
more  bitter  than  that  to  which  the  Christians 
themselves  had  earlier  been  subjected.  Less  than 
a  hundred  years  after  the  conversion  of  Constan- 
tine,  occurred  the  execution,  not  only  of  Spanish 
heretics  by  so-called  Spanish  Christians,  but  that 
of  fellow-Christians  who  failed  to  subscribe  to 
every  detail  of  the  creed  considered  orthodox. 
The  church  had  thriven  on  persecution,  but  peace 

20 


THE   ROMANS 

and  prosperity  soon  stifled  its  vital  principles; 
and,  along  with  her  bigotry,  she  soon  absorbed 
the  corruption  of  the  decadent  empire.  As  the 
state  degenerated,  the  spiritual  power  of  the 
church  weakened,  and  during  the  years  of  bar- 
barian Invasions  many  portions  of  the  peninsula 
relapsed   Into   paganism. 

•  •  •  •  • 

The  Roman  architectural  monuments  found  In 
the  Spanish  peninsula  to-day  are  among  the  most 
Imposing  left  anywhere  by  the  great  empire. 
Many  of  those  which  are  most  familiar  to  us 
should  doubtless  be  classed  as  works  of  engineer- 
ing, rather  than  of  architectural,  skill.  Yet  the 
beauty  of  outline  and  splendour  of  construction  of 
the  great  arches,  aqueducts,  towers,  and  bridges 
of  the  Roman  period,  lift  them  above  merely 
utilitarian  effort. 

Like  the  Titanic  works  of  the  Romans  else- 
where, the  Spanish  monuments  are  usually  con- 
structed of  huge  blocks  of  stone  fitted  together 
without  cement.  Round  keystone  arches,  often  of 
great  breadth  of  span  and  striking  beauty  of  line, 
are  also  a  distinguishing  feature;  and  their  stabil- 
ity to-day  Is  but  another  evidence  of  the  sound- 
ness of  the  constructive  methods  followed  by 
Roman  builders. 

The  famous  bridge  at  Alcantara  crosses  the 
deep   gorge    of   the   Tagus   In   six   splendid   arches. 

21 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

The  two  middle  arches  have  each  a  span  of  fifty 
feet,  and  are  nearly  two  hundred  feet  above  the 
bed  of  the  stream.  Those  at  the  ends  are  nar- 
rower, but  all  are  round  and  spring  from  oblong 
buttressed  piers,  which,  In  turn,  rest  upon  square 
piers  whose  Impression  of  strength  and  solidity  is 
enormous.  We  are  told  that  the  usual  depth  of 
water  in  the  gorge  is  thirty-seven  feet,  but  that 
in  time  of  flood  it  piles  up  to  a  height  of  one 
hundred  and  eighty  feet.  The  force  and  weight 
of  such  a  torrent  are  scarcely  to  be  conceived, 
and  yet,  save  for  the  damage  to  this  bridge  from 
the  hand  of  man,  it  remains  as  nearly  perfect 
to-day  as  when  completed  by  Roman  workmen. 
One  of  the  smaller  arches,  destroyed  in  12 13,  was 
restored  by  Charles  V.;  and  another,  blown  up 
by  the  British  in  1809,  and  again  by  the  Carlists 
in   1836,  was  restored  in    1860.^ 

But  the  beauty  of  this  bridge  does  not  lie  en- 
tirely in  its  strength  and  stability.  All  its  lines 
are  dignified,  and  its  roadway  is  spanned  by  a  su- 
perb Roman  gateway.  The  keystones  of  the  round 
arched  opening  of  the  latter  are  of  cut  stones 
fitted  together  with  the  nicest  precision;  and  Its 
massive  top  is  finished  with  squared  battlements, 
each  alternate  battlement  being  cut  through  with 
a  foliated  and  highly  decorative  loophole.     Below 

1  This  bridge  must  not  be  confounded  with  the  bridge  of  Alcan- 
tara at  Toledo. 

2Z 


Roman  Aqueduct,  Segovia, 


THE   ROMANS 

the  battlements  are  two  mouldings,  one  of  which 
may  have  been  introduced  as  a  dripstone,  and, 
therefore,  may  have  been  entirely  utilitarian;  but 
two  could  not  have  been  necessary,  and  the  two 
lines  of  shadow  add  so  much  to  the  beauty  of 
the  bridge  that  their  decorative  effect  can  hardly 
have  been  entirely  absent  from  the  builder's  mind. 
The  bridge  over  the  broad  Guadiana  at 
Merida,  although  its  construction  is  necessarily  .not 
so  great  a  tour  de  force  as  that  at  Alcantara,  Is 
still  a  magnificent  work.  It  crosses  the  river  in 
sixty-four  arches,  and  is  half  a  mile  long.  Even 
to-day  it  is  one  of  the  longest  bridges  In  the 
world.  At  Segovia,  Tarragona,  and  Merida  are 
splendid  aqueducts,  that  at  Segovia  still  remaining 
one  of  the  most  stupendous  works  of  the  Roman 
Empire.  At  Tarragona  are  yet  to  be  seen  por- 
tions of  the  Roman  wall,  some  of  It  of  cyclopean 
masonry,  whose  foundations  are  said  to  be  of 
Carthaginian  work.  At  Murviedo,  Italica,  and 
Merida  are  remains  of  splendid  theatres,  that  at 
Murviedo,  according  to  some  authorities,  being 
the  best  preserved  Roman  theatre  extant.  At 
Murviedo  also  Is  found  a  remarkably  fine  piece 
of  Roman  mosaic.  The  arch  of  Torre  de  la 
Barca,  and  the  tower  of  Corunna  complete  the 
list  of  the  more  famous  existing  monuments  of 
the  Roman  period  in  Spain,  but  It  by  no  means 
exhausts  the  number  of  splendid  examples. 

23 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

It  cannot  fail  to  be  remarked  that  there  are  no 
temples  or  churches  in  the  above  list,  and  our 
attention  is  directed  to  the  fact  that  only  occa- 
sional traces  remain  which  Indicate  temple  con- 
struction. It  Is  probably  true,  therefore,  that  In 
Spain,  as  elsewhere,  the  sites  of  early  temples 
have  been  freely  used  by  succeeding  peoples,  one 
after  the  other,  for  their  places  of  worship.  In 
Sevjllle  we  know  that  the  site  of  the  present  great 
cathedral  was  first  occupied  by  a  temple  dedicated 
to  Venus  Salambo.  This  was  first  transformed 
Into  a  basilica  consecrated  to  St.  Vincent,  and  later 
into  a  splendid  mosque  which,  after  much  rebuild- 
ing, gave  place  to  the  present  structure.  It  Is 
also  true  that  the  cathedral  at  Saragossa  occupies 
a  site  consecrated  to  Christian  worship  as  early  as 
290.  But  to-day  there  are  In  Spain  no  remains 
of  Roman  temples  of  any  Importance,  and  no 
Christian  basilicas  whose  date  Is  earlier  than  the 
ninth  century. 

•  •  •  •  • 

Perhaps  the  most  Important  memorial  of  the 
Roman  period  of  Spanish  history  Is  Roman-Span- 
ish literature.  Gifted  with  a  natural  exuberance 
of  language,  the  Spanish  people  were  endowed 
with  peculiar  talents  for  literary  expression,  and 
have  always  excelled  In  its  pursuit.  A  bare  list  of 
the  Latin  writers  of  the  first  rank  produced  by 
Spain  during  the  first  century  of  our  era,  includes 

24 


THE    ROMANS 

some  of  the  best-known  names  of  the  best  period 
of  Roman  literature.  The  two  Senecas,  Lucan, 
Quintilian,  Columela,  Martial,  and  Pomponius 
Mela  were  all  born  In  Spain.  Like  the  Spanish- 
Roman  emperors,  they  are  called  Spanish,  but  it 
is  most  probable  that  they,  also,  were,  at  least 
partially,  of  Roman  blood.  ^  The  elder  Seneca 
Is  known  to  have  been  the  son  of  a  Roman 
father  and  a  Spanish  mother,  but,  as  a  rule,  gene- 
ological  mention  Is  rare  and  unreliable,  and  we 
are  left  to  depend  upon  a  knowledge  of  the  gen- 
eral course  of  advancement,  which  was  more  fully 
open  to  those  of  mixed  Roman  and  Spanish  blood 
than  to  an  enslaved  native  population.  Many  were 
undoubtedly  the  children  of  Roman  soldiers  by 
Spanish  women,  such  children  always  being  en- 
dowed with  the  freedom  of  Roman   citizenship. 

2  Individual  genius,  when   produced,   was   usually   the  result  of 
such  intermixture. 


25 


Chapter  II 
THE  VISIGOTHS 

THE  Visigoths,  hke  the  Franks,  the  Suevi, 
and  the  Alans,  all  of  whom  poured  down 
Into  southern  Europe  during  the  third, 
fourth,  and  fifth  centuries,  were  of  the  race  usu- 
ally designated  as  Teutonic.  Like  the  Iberians  they 
were  dolichocephalic.  But  while  the  southern 
people  were  short  and  dark  with  curling  hair,  the 
Visigoths  were  tall  and  blond  with  straight  hair. 
The  Goths  are  supposed  to  have  come  originally 
from  Scandinavia.  But  authentic  history  first  finds 
them  in  the  region  now  known  as  Prussia, 
where  they  were  already  divided  into  Ostro- 
Goths,  or  East  Goths,  and  VIsI-Goths,  or  West 
Goths.  It  was  the  VIsI-Goths,  who,  during 
the  fourth  and  fifth  centuries,  made  their  way 
down  into  the  south  and  west  of  Europe,  where 
they  first  set  up  a  kingdom  in  Southern  Gaul. 
Long  a  favourite  possession  of  Rome,  Southern 
Gaul,  under  the  Empire,  had  become  so  thoroughly 
Romanized  as  to  be  known  as  The  Province,  a 
name  preserved  to-day  in  Provence.  During  their 
occupation  of  it,  the  barbarism  of  the  Visigoths 
was  materially  softened.     Early  efforts  were  made 

26 


THE  VISIGOTHS 

to  extend  the  VIsIgothic  power  into  Spain,  which 
met  with  little  opposition  except  from  the  bar- 
barians who  had  preceded  them,  and  under  the 
Visigothic  king,  Wallia  (417-419),  they  overran  the 
peninsula,  and  gained  a  permanent  foothold  there. 

The  Visigothic  court  in  Spain  was  first  set  up 
at  Barcelona,  and  later  at  Seville;  but,  about  560, 
was  finally  and  permanently  removed  to  Toledo, 
where,  from  that  date,  the  chief  interest  of  the 
Visigothic  period  centres.  Its  most  striking  move- 
ments sprang  from  the  struggle  between  the  con- 
flicting creeds  professed  by  the  Visigoths  and  the 
Romanized  Spaniards. 

The  conversion  of  the  Visigoths  to  Christianity 
dates  from  the  middle  of  the  fourth  century. 
They  were,  therefore,  nominally  a  Christian  peo- 
ple before  their  conquest  of  Spain,  but  they  were 
Arians;  and  the  Roman  Church,  arrogating  to  her- 
self the  term  orthodox,  had  branded  Arianism 
as  a  heresy,  nearly,  if  not  quite,  as  dangerous  as 
paganism,  and  even  more  to  be  condemned.  In- 
deed the  great  Catholic  doctrine  of  the  equality 
of  the  Trinity  had  been  formulated  at  Nicea,  in 
325,  chiefly  to  confute  the  growing  heresy  of 
Arianism   which   denied   that   equality. 

In  further  contrast  to  the  church  of  Rome,  that 
of  the  Visigoths  was  a  very  primitive  organiza- 
tion, if  indeed  it  may  be  said  to  have  been  or- 
ganized    at     all.      Yet,     notwithstanding     unusual 

27 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

freedom  and  a  broad  tolerance  of  other  faiths,  a 
high  standard  of  morality  and  a  tone  of  marked 
social  purity  are  said  to  have  existed.  But  through 
lack  of  organization,  always  a  fatal  defect,  the 
Gothic  church,  and  the  Gothic  empire  as  well, 
were  destined  to  yield  In  the  end  to  the  suprem- 
acy of  the  church  of   Rome. 

The  first  note  of  the  long  struggle  had  been 
sounded  In  that  Prankish  advance  Into  southern 
Gaul  which  had  finally  driven  the  Goths  across 
the  Pyrenees  Into  Spain.  Clovls  and  his  Franks 
were  of  the  orthodox  or  Roman  faith;  and,  while 
the  rich  plains  of  Provence  were  a  tempting  bait, 
the  avowed  pretext  for  their  conquest  had  been 
the  expulsion  of  heretical  Arlans  from  Gallic  soil. 
The  church  of  Rome  had  stood  behind  the 
Franklsh  advance,  and  continued  to  Inspire  the 
pressure,  both  warlike  and  diplomatic,  with  which 
it  was   followed  up   in   Spain. 

There  the  Roman  church,  which  In  many  local- 
ities had  survived  the  ruins  of  the  Empire,  was 
already.  In  many  localities,  strongly  established. 
Further,  It  was  the  one  field  of  advancement  left 
open  by  their  new  VIsIgothic  rulers  to  the  native 
Spaniards.  The  marked  susceptibility  of  the  Iberic 
stock  to  ecclesiastical  rule  Is  evidenced  all  through 
Spanish  history.  It  follows,  therefore,  that,  while 
the  Spaniards  upon  their  own  initiative  had  vol- 
unteered practically  no  opposition  to  the  VIsIgothic 

28 


THE  VISIGOTHS 

conquest,  under  the  leadership  of  a  Roman  priest- 
hood they  soon  became  an  antagonistic,  even  an 
aggressive,  power  In  the  state.  The  VIsIgothIc 
rulers  were  tolerant,  but  it  could  not  be  expected 
that  they  would  accept  meekly  and  at  once  the 
rule  of  a  priesthood,  largely  recruited  from  the 
native  population,  which  derived  Its  authority  from 
Rome.  For  nearly  eighty  years,  therefore,  they 
resisted  the  pressure  of  the  overwhelming  numbers 
and   superior   organization   of  the    Roman   church. 

Vivid  personalities  and  stirring  scenes  soon  be- 
gin to  stand  out.  Athanaglld  (554-567),  under 
whom  the  Gothic  capital  was  removed  to  Toledo, 
had  for  his  queen  Gosvinda,  who  for  many  years 
held  the  centre  of  the  stage  as  the  most  bitter 
partisan  of  her  faith  produced  by  the  Arlan 
church.  One  may  read  in  detail  the  stories  of 
her  two  daughters,  Brunhllda  and  Galesvlntha, 
both  of  whom  were  married  to  Prankish  kings, 
and  both  of  whom  suffered  tragic  deaths  In  that 
country. 

The  almost  masculine  character  of  Brunhllda, 
together  with  the  savage  persecution  which  she 
endured  and  her  horrible  death,  forms  one  of  the 
best-known  chapters  of  early  French  history.  But 
her  girlhood  and  that  of  her  equally  unfortunate 
sister  belong  to  the  rugged  city  on  the  Tagus, 
then  just  emerging  into  the  new  consequence  of 
the   Gothic   capital.    There   Brunhllda   Imbibed   to 

29 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

a  striking  degree  the  indomitable  courage  of  her 
race.  Like  her  people  she  stood  for  the  supremacy 
of  royal  authority,  and  finally  gave  her  life  in  its 
defence.* 

During  these  early  years  any  one  of  the  Visi- 
gothlc  chieftains  was  eligible  to  the  office  of  king, 
which  was  the  reward  of  military  prowess.  The 
oath  of  office  was  a  mutual  promise  between  the 
people  and  the  king.  "  King  shalt  thou  be  If 
thou  doest  right,  no  king  shalt  thou  be  If  thou 
doest  not  right."  The  ceremony  of  inauguration 
consisted  In  raising  the  successful  candidate  upon 
a  buckler,  while  his  followers  hailed  him  as  their 
leader. 

But  while  this  simple  system,  with  Its  primitive 
oath  and  ceremonial,  had  answered  well  enough 
for  a  wandering  and  warlike  people.  It  soon 
proved  Inadequate  to  the  needs  of  a  settled  and 
civilized  kingdom;  and  with  the  culmination  of 
the  religious  struggle,  which  came  during  the 
reigns  of  Leoviglld  (570-587)  and  his  son  Re- 
cared  (587-601),  the  inherent  weakness  of  the 
VIsigothIc  form  of  government  proved  an  added 
menace  to  VIsigothIc  power. 

Already   Intrigue   and   murder  had   marked  the 


1  It  will  be  remembered  that  at  the  age  of  eighty,  Brunhilda  was 
tied  by  the  hair,  one  hand  and  one  foot,  to  the  tail  of  an  unbroken 
horse,  whose  wild  gallop  dashed  her  to  pieces  before  a  mob  of 
ferocious  Franks. 

30 


THE  VISIGOTHS 

election  of  a  new  king.  Soon  after  his  accession, 
therefore,  LeovIgUd  assembled  the  VIsIgothIc 
chiefs  at  Toledo,  where^  after  laying  before  them 
the  dangers  that  beset  the  state  under  existing 
conditions,  he  succeeded  In  procuring  a  decree 
making  the  crown  hereditary  In  his  own  family; 
his  sons,  ErmlnlgUd  and  Recared,  being  appointed 
successively  his  heirs.  But,  although  Leovlglld 
was  able  to  wrest  this  proof  of  loyalty  from  his 
nobles,  their  native  Independence,  and  consequent 
lack  of  unity,  rendered  them  an  unstable  support 
during  the  bitter  struggle  in  which  for  the  next 
dozen  years  he  was  to  be  the  chief  figure. 

Upon  the  death  of  his  first  wife,  the  Greek 
Theodosia,  Leovlglld  had  espoused  the  widowed 
queen  of  Athanagild,  Gosvlnda;  and  the  tragic 
tale  begins  with  the  marriage  of  the  Prince  Er- 
mlnlglld  with  the  Prankish  Princess  Ingunda. 
This  event  was  made  the  occasion  of  much  kind- 
ness and  liberality  by  the  Gothic  king.  He  even 
associated  his  son  with  himself  In  the  royal  dig- 
nity, sharing  with  him  the  honours  as  well  as  the 
labours  of  his  office,  and  allotting  for  his  occupa- 
tion apartments  In  the  same  royal  palace  occupied 
by  himself  and  Gosvlnda.  But  the  residence  of 
two  queens  in  one  household  soon  proved  an  Im- 
possible arrangement,  especially  as  one  was  old 
and  ugly  and  the  other  young  and  pretty;  al- 
though,   as   Ingunda   was   a    devoted   adherent   of 

31 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

the  Orthodox  church,  their  animosity  is  usually 
attributed  to  religious  intolerance. 

The  altercations  between  the  two  queens  soon 
became  a  public  scandal.  Historians  of  the  time, 
who  are  largely  Catholic,  charge  Gosvlnda  with 
the  most  outrageous  behaviour.  St.  Gregory  of 
Tours  asserts  that  one  day  she  seized  Ingunda  by 
the  hair,  threw  her  down  and  trampled  upon  her, 
then  thrust  her  into  a  fish  pond  to  be  baptized  by 
an  Arian  priest.  But,  whether  or  not  the  two 
royal  ladies  came  to  actual  blows,  our  earlier  and 
later  knowledge  of  Gosvlnda  proves  that  she  con- 
stantly aggravated  those  domestic  quarrels  which 
embittered  the  later  years  of  the  kindly  Leovlglld, 
and  nearly  cost  him  his  throne.  Mariana  ob- 
serves that,  "Gosvlnda,  who  ought  to  have  ap- 
peased her  husband's  passion  and  laboured  for  an 
accommodation,  being  herself  obstinate  and  a 
mother-in-law,  blew  the  coals  and  stirred  up  the 
king." 

A  separation  of  the  belligerents  finally  became 
necessary,  and  Erminigild  was  sent  to  Seville, 
where  a  separate  court  was  set  up  for  him  and 
the  orthodox  Ingunda.  In  Seville,  however,  the 
young  king  was  exposed,  not  only  to  the  growing 
influence  of  his  wife,  but  to  the  persuasions  of 
the  powerful  Catholic  bishop,  Leandro,  who  Is 
supposed  to  have  been  his  maternal  uncle.  Under 
their  combined  efforts,  Erminlglld's  conversion  was 

32 


THE  VISIGOTHS 

soon  accomplished,  after  which  he  became  the 
chief  weapon  in  the  aggressive  policy  at  once 
adopted  by  the  Orthodox  party. 

Under  Arlan  rule  the  Roman  church  every- 
where In  Spain  had  been  allowed  the  widest  free- 
dom. Ingunda  herself,  except  for  the  persecution 
by  Gosvlnda,  had  been  permitted  the  free  prac- 
tice of  her  faith.  But  no  sooner  had  ErminlgUd 
partaken  of  an  Orthodox  mass,  than  plans  were 
laid  for  the  overthrow  of  Leoviglld,  and  the 
usurpation  of  the  entire  authority  for  his  son, 
whose  chief  business  thenceforth  was  to  be  the 
extinction  in  the  peninsula  of  the  ancient  heresy 
of   Arlanlsm. 

Almost  at  once  Ermlnlglld  was  in  correspond- 
ence with  the  enemies  of  his  father;  and,  although 
the  King  made  every  effort  to  turn  his  son  from 
treasonable  designs,  he  was  finally  obliged  to  take 
the  field  against  him.  The  ensuing  hostilities  oc- 
cupied more  than  a  year.  At  one  time  Ermini- 
gild  was  persuaded  to  throw  himself  upon  the 
mercy  of  his  father.  The  result  of  the  interview 
— the  forgiveness  of  the  parent,  but  the  justice 
of  the  king,  which  banished  Ermlnlglld, — should 
have  ended  the  conflict.  But  scarcely  had  the 
young  prince  reached  his  city  of  exile  than  he 
was  again  enmeshed  In  guilty  plots. 

Hostilities  were  again  begun,  ending  this  time 
in  the   capture   and   Imprisonment  of   Ermlnlglld. 

33 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

Then  a  final  effort  was  made  to  deal  with  the  un- 
stable prince.  He  was  offered  an  entire  restora- 
tion to  royal  favour  if  he  would  return  to  his 
Arlan  faith.  That  he  refused  to  do  so  Is  the  one 
act  In  the  tragic  story  that  does  him  honour,  but 
It  left  the  King  In  a  most  difficult  situation.  That 
ErmlnlgUd  living  would  prove  a  constant  menace 
to  the  peace  of  the  kingdom,  as  well  as  to  the 
stability  of  the  throne  Itself,  had  already  been 
amply  proved.  But  It  Is  hardly  probable  that 
Leovlglld  would  have  proceeded  to  extreme 
measures  had  not  the  young  prince  received  with 
marked  Insolence  the  Arlan  bishop  sent  to  offer 
him  communion.  The  report  of  the  Insult  reached 
the  old  King  at  a  moment  of  unbearable  stress, 
and  Leovlglld,  at  last  exasperated  beyond  endur- 
ance, and  without  waiting  for  his  anger  to  cool, 
gave  orders   for  the   execution   of  his   son. 

The  order,  which  was  but  too  promptly  obeyed, 
left  Leovlglld  for  the  moment  master  of  the  sit- 
uation, but  his  remorse  for  so  unnatural  and  hor- 
rible an  act,  with  the  evil  passions  which  It 
excited  and  strengthened,  overshadowed  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life,  and  doubtless  shortened  It. 
Yet,  during  the  two  years  remaining  to  him,  the 
staunch  old  Arlan  maintained  a  dauntless  front. 
Forced  Into  a  position  of  Intolerance,  his  persecu- 
tion of  Catholic  churches  and  monasteries  threw 
into  his  hands  a  mass  of  rich  plunder  which  sur- 

34 


THE   VISIGOTHS 

rounded  the  royal  person  with  a  new  splendour. 
He  erected  a  magnificent  throne  In  his  palace,  and 
was  the  first  of  the  Gothic  kings  who  wore  a 
crown  and  used  a  sceptre  In  public.  It  Is  also 
said  that  he  was  the  first  who  wore  garments  dif- 
ferent from  the  rest  of  the  people. 

After  the  death  of  Leovlglld,  It  was  whispered 
that,  In  his  last  moments,  he  had  been  converted 
to  the  Orthodox  faith.  It  Is  not  Improbable  that, 
wearied  by  the  urgency  of  an  Importunate  priest- 
hood, he  may  have  made  some  sign  of  submis- 
sion in  order  to  secure  peace  during  his  dying 
hours.  A  powerful  lever,  which  could  not  have 
failed  to  Influence  the  old  and  broken  King,  lay 
in  his  remorse  for  the  execution  of  his  son  (al- 
ready made  a  martyr  and  saint  In  the  Roman  cal- 
endar), for  which  execution  Rome  doubtless  prom- 
ised absolution  in  return  for  his  conversion.  But 
with  Leovlglld  the  chief  issue,  after  all,  was  not 
the  form  of  faith.  His  struggle  with  the  church 
was  for  the  supremacy  of  the  royal  authority,  and 
long  before  his  death  the  grand  old  warrior  must 
have   foreseen  that  with  him  his   cause  must  fall. 

Recared  succeeded  to  the  throne  In  587,  and 
soon  after  his  accession  representatives  of  both  the 
Arian  and  Catholic  priesthoods  were  invited  to 
meet  together  to  discuss  the  points  In  dispute  be- 
tween them.  Recared  presided  over  this  council 
in    person,    and,   professing   himself   an    enemy   to 

35 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

all  persecution,  he  succeeded  In  establishing  a  tone 
of  moderation  as  welcome  as  It  had  been  rare, 
for  a  hundred  years  at  least.  In  the  Gothic  king- 
dom. It  was  at  this  time  that  rumours  of  Leovi- 
glld's  death-bed  conversion  began  to  circulate,  and 
the  advantage  to  be  derived,  by  Recared  and  the 
Orthodox  party,  from  such  a  suspicion,  strongly 
suggests  its  Inspiration  by  them.  In  this  manner 
the  way  was  carefully  prepared  for  the  momen- 
tous announcement  of  the  young  King's  change  of 
faith. 

On  the  eighth  of  May,  589,  two  years  after 
his  accession,  Recared  called  together  at  Toledo 
the  most  distinguished  assemblage  of  nobles  and 
prelates  which  had  yet  been  congregated  In  the 
Gothic  capital.  Even  the  titles  of  the  dignitaries 
who  followed  In  the  King's  train  must  Indicate  the 
Importance  of  the  convocation,  as  well  as  the 
rapid  growth  of  pomp  and  ceremonial  at  the 
Gothic  court.  "There  were  dukes,  counts,  and 
palatines.  Then  came  a  count  of  the  drinking 
cup,  a  chamberlain,  a  chief  groom,  major  domos, 
counts  of  the  patrimony,  several  counters  In  chief, 
the  count  of  the  viands,  a  knight  of  the  youths, 
a  captain  of  the  guards,  a  keeper  of  the  sacred 
things,  and  a  keeper  of  the  treasure,  besides  the 
grandees  and  governors  of  the  territories  and 
kingdoms."  All  wore  flowing  robes  of  silks  and 
costly  stuffs,   with  heavy  ornaments  of   gold  and 

36 


THE   VISIGOTHS 

jewels,  which,  with  the  richly  robed  clergy,  made 
a  fine  show  even  against  the  rude  background  of 
Gothic,    or  battered  Roman,  walls. 

The  pretext  for  the  convocation  was  the  dis- 
cussion of  important  measures  for  the  public 
good,  and  the  first  three  days  were  devoted  to 
fasting  and  prayer.  Then  the  King  rose  and  de- 
livered a  long  and  elaborate  address,  largely  de- 
voted to  the  importance  of  religion  to  the  well 
being  of  man,  and  its  necessity  to  the  organization 
of  society.  In  closing  he  referred  to  the  many 
miracles  wrought  in  behalf  of  the  Orthodox  form 
of  faith,  and  finally  avowed  his  conversion  to  it. 
Then  Recared,  and  after  him  his  Queen,  Baddo, 
publicly  subscribed  to  the  creed  of  the  Catholic 
church,  a  ceremony  which,  It  is  not  too  much  to 
say,  laid  the  foundation  for  the  ecclesiasticism 
which  from  that  day  to  this  has  ruled  Spain. 

A  surprisingly  large  number  of  the  Gothic  no- 
bility followed  the  King's  example.  It  was  the 
easiest  way  out  of  their  difficulties,  and  the  Goths, 
even  in  their  most  vigorous  days,  had  never  been 
given  to  profound  thought  or  the  subtleties,  of 
doctrine.  There  remained,  of  course,  the  Arlan 
priesthood,  with  a  few  of  the  most  unyielding 
of  the  nobles,  who  together  entered  a  determined 
protest  against  the  king's  action.  But  they  ac- 
complished nothing,  except  perhaps  a  temporary 
disturbance  of  the  historic  assemblage,   from  which 

37 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

Recared  and  all  laymen  soon  marched  out  in  a 
solemn  procession,  leaving  the  foundation  of  a 
new  system  of  government  In  the  hands  in  which 
the  business  has  largely  remained  ever  since,  those 
of  the  Spanish   clergy. 

It  is  very  probable  that  the  supremacy  of  the 
church  of  Rome  gave  Spain  a  better  government 
than  she  would  have  enjoyed  under  the  Irrespon- 
sible sway  of  the  later  degenerate  Visigoths. 
But,  with  the  decree  which  rendered  the  sanction 
of  the  priesthood  necessary  to  validate  an  elec- 
tion to  the  throne,  the  strife  for  the  kingship 
soon  became,  In  the  church  as  it  had  earlier  been 
in  the  the  state,  a  source  of  intrigue,  and  even 
crime.  Furthermore,  the  rapidly  increasing  per- 
secution of  the  Jews  but  too  clearly  shows  that 
the  enormous  accession  of  ecclesiastical  power 
tended  to  a  proportionate  growth  of  intolerance 
among  the  clergy.  Even  under  Recared,  severe 
laws  were  passed  against  the  Hebrew  race;  and 
so  rapid  was  the  growth  of  religious  bigotry  that, 
within  forty  years,  a  council  held  at  Toledo  pro- 
hibited in  the  VIsigothic  kingdom  the  practice  of 
any  other  religion  than  that  of  Rome. 

Fifty  years  later  it  was  further  decreed  that 
no  man  should  be  nominated  as  king  who  was  not 
of  noble  blood  and  Gothic  descent.  And  in  the 
sixth  council  of  Toledo,  held  in  638,  a  canon 
obliged   all   future  kings  to   swear,   not   only   that 

38 


THE   VISIGOTHS 

they  would  not  suffer  the  exercise  of  any  other 
religion  than  the  Catholic,  but  that  they  would 
rigorously  enforce  the  laws  against  all  dissidents, 
especially  against  that  accursed  race,  the  Jews. 
Thus  early  was  the  Spanish  church  pledged  to 
that  extreme  policy  of  conversion  or  extermina- 
tion which  repeatedly  during  later  years  was  to 
expel  or  destroy  the  most  valuable  and  Industrious 
portion  of  the  population.  Indeed,  It  is  said  that 
the  maxims  of  the  modern  inquisition  may  all  be 
traced  to  the  canons  of  the  Gothic  Code  which 
were  Issued   for  the   persecution   of  the  Jews. 

The  weakness  which  had  undermined  the  early 
strength  of  the  VIsIgothic  character  may  be 
traced  to  the  enslavement  of  the  native  Spaniards. 
We  are  told  that  almost  the  entire  native  popu- 
lation had  been  gradually  pressed  Into  bondage; 
and  the  fundamental  Injustice  of  the  VIsIgothic 
Code,  which  provided  punishment  in  Inverse  ratio 
with  the  station  In  life  of  the  accused,  not  only 
rendered  the  condition  of  the  slave  one  of  ab- 
ject misery,  but  most  effectually  destroyed  a  sense 
of  honour  In  the  master.  When  a  crime  which 
cost  a  serf  his  life  might  be  committed  by  a 
noble  for  a  nominal  penalty,  the  moral  degrada- 
tion of  the  latter   could  not  long  be  delayed. 

Long  before  the  accession  of  Recared,  the 
Gothic  nobility  had  proved  themselves  incapable 
of  a  just  or  sustained  government;   and,   as  they 

39 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

became  more  and  more  idle,  enervated,  and  cor- 
rupt, it  grew  increasingly  evident  that  the  final 
supremacy  of  the  only  united  force  in  the  king- 
dom, that  of  the  church  of  Rome,  was  inevitable. 
It  was  the  only  power  that  could  hold  the  state 
together.  Recared's  conversion,  therefore,  is  usu- 
ally regarded  as  a  political  necessity.  Like  Henry 
IV.  of  France,  he  was  compelled  to  embrace 
Catholicism  if  he  were  to  retain  his  throne;  and, 
also  like  the  great  Henry,  the  Gothic  king  dis- 
played a  dexterity  in  preparing  the  way  for  his 
change  of  faith,  and,  during  the  ensuing  years,  a 
moderation  in  his  dealing  with  both  religious  fac- 
tions which  cannot  be  too  highly  commended. 
But  there  the  likeness  ends;  for  Henry  IV.  was  a 
leader  who  shaped  history,  and  Recared,  an 
opportunist. 

As  we  approach  the  latter  days  of  the  Visi- 
gothic  empire  in  Spain,  historians  become  more 
numerous  as  well  as  more  prolix,  and  the  student 
is  fairly  embarrassed  with  varied  and  contradic- 
tory accounts.  Of  the  many  legends  of  Wamba's 
(672-680)  ^  elevation  to  the  throne,  the  one  most 
commonly  told  relates  that  the  Gothic  nobles  ap- 
pealed to  Pope  Leo  for  assistance  in  their  choice 
of  a  king.  The  Holy  Father,  after  praying  for 
divine  guidance,  directed  them  to  seek  a  labourer 

2  Eleven  kings  occupied  the  Gothic  throne  during  the  seventy 
years  between  Recared  and  Wamba. 

40 


THE  VISIGOTHS 

in  the  west  called  Wamba,  who  should  be  miracu- 
lously made  known  to  them. 

Soldiers  were  accordingly  dispatched  to  scour 
the  western  country,  and  In  a  field  on  the  confines 
of  Portugal  was  discovered,  following  his  plow, 
an  old  man  who  answered  to  the  name  of 
Wamba,  To  him  they  at  once  offered  the  Gothic 
crown.  But  Wamba,  considering  their  offer  a  jest, 
replied  that  they  would  doubtless  make  him  king 
when  the  pole  In  his  hand  should  bud  and  bring 
forth  leaves.  The  dry  wood  was  Immediately 
clothed  with  fresh  verdure,  and  Wamba  hailed 
as  King. 

Another  legend  first  discovers  Wamba  at  the 
funeral  of  Recesvlnthus,^  after  which  a  Gothic 
noble  encountered  him  in  a  street  of  Toledo, 
where,  placing  his  poniard  at  the  breast  of  the 
old  man,  he  gave  him  the  choice  of  death  or  the 
throne.  Wamba  doubtless  reflected  that  the  end 
might  be  the  same  in  either  case,  but  for  the 
time  even  a  dangerous  eminence  was  better  than 
immediate  death,  and  within  twenty  days  he  was 
crowned  King  of  Spain. 

As  African  invaders  were  already  beginning  to 
threaten  the  south,  Wamba  built,  for  the  defence 
of  the  coast,  a  fleet  whose  service  was  so  effec- 
tive that  It  delayed  for  thirty  years  the  Moslem 
conquest  of  Spain.    The  period  of  Wamba's  reign, 

3  Recesvinthus   immediately  preceded   Wamba. 
41 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

therefore,  saw  a  reconsolidation  of  the  loosely 
held  kingdom  of  the  Visigoths;  and  the  wisdom 
and  justice  of  his  Internal  administration  produced 
a  last  interval  of  peace  and  prosperity  under  their 
rule   In   the  peninsula. 

But  a  wise  and  honeist  rule  was  neither  ex- 
pected nor  desired  by  the  degenerate  nobles  who 
had  elevated  Wamba  to  his  high  office,  and  its 
end  was  not  long  delayed.  The  story  of  Wamba's 
deposition  is  even  more  remarkable  than  that  of 
his  election.  Proofs  have  always  been  wanting, 
but  it  Is  most  probable  that  he  fell  victim  to  a 
treasonable  Intrigue  of  Ervlgius,  who  had  long 
aspired  to  the  throne. 

The  story  goes  that  upon  a  certain  Sunday  In 
October,  680,  Wamba  f ell '  Into  an  unaccountable 
state  of  Insensibility.  His  servants,  who  believed 
him  dying  or  dead,  following  the  custom  of  the 
times,  shaved  his  head  and  enveloped  him  In  the 
habit  of  a  monk.  Within  twenty-four  hours  the 
king  recovered  consciousness,  but  his  doom  was 
sealed.  Although  his  adoption  of  holy  orders 
had  been  without  his  knowledge  or  consent,  he 
was  nevertheless  accounted  a  monk,  and  a  monk 
could  not  be  king. 

With  the  disappearance  of  Wamba  into  his 
cloister.  Is  begun  a  veritable  orgle  of  Intrigue 
and  crime  at  the  Vislgothic  court.  Ervlgius  was 
so    strongly   suspected   of   having   had   a    hand    in 

42 


THE  VISIGOTHS 

the  enforced  encloistering  of  Wamba,  that  he 
soon  found  It  necessary  to  yield  the  succession 
to  Egica,  a  brother  of  Wamba,  attempting  at 
the  same  time  to  Insure  the  loyalty  of  Eglca  to 
himself  and  his  family  by  the  gift  to  the  latter 
of  his  daughter  In  marriage.  But  no  sooner 
was  Eglca  seated  upon  the  throne  than  he  repu- 
diated his  wife  and  all  the  promises  earlier  made 
to  Ervlglus.  Egica  further  rendered  his  reign  in- 
famous by  a  persecution  of  the  Jews  which  was 
the  most  extreme  in  all  history.  His  edicts  left 
open  to  them  nothing  but  exile,  slavery,  or  death, 
and  In  each  case  the  hunted  people  were  plundered 
of  all  the  wealth  which  they  could  not  hide  from 
their  persecutors. 

The  overweening  power  of  the  church,  evi- 
denced by  the  extent  and  success  of  its  persecu- 
tions, had  long  tended,  among  the  clergy,  to  the 
grossest  Immorality.  But  when  Witiza,  the  son 
and  successor  of  Egica,  executed  a  decree  permit- 
ting the  marriage  of  priests,  a  measure  doubtless 
Intended  to  correct  existing  abuses  by  legalizing 
them,  the  resulting  scandal  fairly  shook  the  foun- 
dations of  the  grim  old  city,  and  Witiza  has 
come  down  through  history  as  a  monster  of 
depravity. 

Witiza  is  also  credited  with  having  put  out  the 
eyes  of  Theodofred,  Duke  of  Cordova;  and,  in 
this   case   as   In   many   others,    this    favourite    Visi- 

43 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

gothic  brutality  served  as  the  beginning  of  a 
series  of  reprisals.  A  party  at  once  rose  against 
WItiza,  deposed  him,  and  replaced  him  on  the 
throne  by  Roderick,  the  son  of  the  blinded  Duke; 
after  which  Roderick,  in  his  turn,  blinded  and 
banished  WItlza.  These  barbarities,  which  sig- 
nalized the  accession  of  Roderick,  were  naturally 
followed  by  the  formation  of  a  party  In  opposi- 
tion to  the  new  king,  headed  by  the  friends  and 
relations  of  the  dethroned  WItlza. 

Oppas,  who  Is  sometimes  said  to  have  been 
Archbishop  of  Toledo,  but  who  was  more  prob- 
ably Bishop  of  Seville,  took  a  leading  part  In 
the  revolutionary  councils.  By  some  he  Is  ac- 
counted one  of  WItiza's  two  sons,  but  he  Is  usu- 
ally said  to  have  been  his  brother.  Tradition 
has  long  associated  with  Oppas  the  powerful 
Count  Julian,  and  history  has  always  heaped  upon 
the  latter  the  chief  odium  of  the  treason  which 
finally   cost   the   Visigoths   their    Spanish    kingdom. 

According  to  a  long-accepted  legend,  Count 
Julian  had  a  personal  grievance  against  young 
King  Roderick,  In  the  dishonour  of  his  daughter, 
the  beautiful  Florlnda,  who  had  been  sent  to  the 
Gothic  court  as  one  of  the  ladles-In-waltlng  upon 
the  Queen.  This  story,  now  generally  dismissed 
as  a  fable,  has  been  translated  by  some  his- 
torians as  a  figurative  rendering  of  the  oppression 
of  the  Jews.     Count  Julian   Is  believed  by  many 

44 


THE  VISIGOTHS 

to  have  been  a  Jew,  and  to  have  belonged  to  a 
tribe  called  the  Caat.  The  persecution  of  this 
tribe  was  especially  bitter,  and  was  frequently 
referred  to  as  the  violation  of  the  Caba,  a  name 
which  might  easily  have  grown  into  that  of  la 
Cava,  or  the  harlot,  under  which  name  Florlnda 
Is  equally  well  known. 

Even  through  legend,  therefore,  we  come  back 
to  the  persecution  of  the  Jews  as  the  final  cause 
of  the  overthrow  of  the  Gothic  empire  in  Spain, 
and  the  above  Intrepretatlon  is  amply  borne  out 
by  facts.  Whether  or  not  Count  Julian  was  a 
Jew;  in  the  negotiations  which  were  opened  up 
with  the  Arabs  and  Moors  by  the  friends  of  the 
dethroned  Witlza,  he  was  undoubtedly  the  rep- 
resentative of  the  Jewish  race;  of  the  bitterly  op- 
pressed remnant  In  Spain,  and  their  exiled 
brethren  In  Africa.  Moreover,  as  Count  Julian 
was  the  governor  of  Ceuta,  the  African  post  op- 
posite Gibraltar,  he  may  be  said  to  have  held  the 
key   to   the    situation. 

Added  to  the  above  treason,  was  the  disaffec- 
tion of  a  small  but  rancorous  party  of  Arians, 
and,  last  but  not  least,  the  rising  pressure  of  the 
enslaved  native  population.  The  condition  of  the 
latter  had  become  most  abject,  and  they  would 
undoubtedly  go  over  en  masse  to  any  new  ruler 
whose  coming  promised  even  a  temporary  amelio- 
ration of  their  misery. 

45 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

Any  but  the  passion-inflamed  eyes  of  the  trai- 
torous Goths  might  have  foreseen  that  the  Mos- 
lem hordes,  whom  they  now  invited  into  Spain 
to  assist  in  the  dethronement  of  Roderick,  would 
In  the  end  become  their  conquerors.  But  blinded 
by  their  hate,  the  adherents  of  Witlza  thought 
only  of  their  own  vengeance;  and  Roderick, 
whose  traditional  splendour  and  physical  beauty 
have  long  rendered  him  a  favourite  of  romance, 
fully  occupied  with  the  new  pleasures  connected 
with  being  king,  gave  little  heed  to  conditions 
which    were   rapidly   undermining   his    throne. 

Within  six  months  of  the  accession  of  Roderick, 
a  Moslem  army  was  landed  In  Andalusia,  and 
within  the  year  occurred  the  decisive  battle,  near 
Xeres  de  la  Frontera,  on  the  western  bank  of  the 
Guadalete,  which  put  an  end  to  the  empire  of  the 
Visigoths  In  Spain.  Many  picturesque  and  not  a 
few  fabulous  accounts,  have  been  written  of  this 
battle.  Ancient  Spanish  writers  have  related  ro- 
mantic tales  of  the  matchless  valour  and  miracu- 
lous preservation  of  the  Gothic  king,  together 
with  glowing  descriptions  of  his  beauty  and  the 
splendour  of  his  equipment. 

Even  In  modern  romantic  literature,  Roderick, 
*'  The  Last  of  the  Goths,''  has  long  been  a  favour- 
ite hero,  and  the  battle  on  the  bank  of  the  Guada- 
lete has  served  as  the  climax  for  at  least  two 
famous    poems.     In    both.    King    Roderick's    steed 

46 


THE  VISIGOTHS 

"  Orella  "  plays  an  Important  part,  founded  on  the 
legend  which  tells  of  finding,  on  the  bank  of  the 
Guadalete  a  few  days  after  the  battle,  of  King 
Roderick's  robe,  his  armour,  and  the  body  of 
his  horse.  Because  of  this  legend,  many  author- 
ities claim  that  Roderick  was  drowned  while  at- 
tempting to  cross  the  river  to  a  place  of  safety. 
Another  story  tells  of  the  discovery,  two  hundred 
years  later,  of  a  sepulchre  in  Portugal  whose  In- 
scription, Hie  reqiiiescit  ultimus  Rex  Gothorum, 
gave  rise  to  the  belief  that  King  Roderick  es- 
caped, at  the  close  of  the  disastrous  battle,  and 
ended  his  days  in  an  obscure  Portuguese  con- 
vent. 

These  and  many  other  legends,  most  of  which 
have  no  foundation  of  fact,  have  gathered  around 
the  famous  battle  of  the  river  Guadalete.  From 
them  we  gather  that  Roderick  and  his  ninety 
thousand  warriors  (?)  went  into  action  burdened 
with  the  pomp  which,  during  the  later  years  of 
their  empire,  had  replaced  the  early  and  rude  but 
far  more  effective  methods  of  VIsigothIc  warfare. 
Their  long  ranks  doubtless  formed  a  most  Im- 
posing pageant,  but  with  their  cumbersome  ar- 
mour they  were  utterly  unable  to  cope  with  the 
swift  tactics  and  sudden  onslaught  of  the  Moors. 
Then,  too,  disaffection  rendered  unreliable  a  large 
proportion  of  the  VIsigothIc  army,  and,  although 
three  times  the  number  of  their  foes,  their  battle 

47 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

was  a  losing  one  from  the  outset.  With  the  de- 
sertion of  the  conspirators  to  the  ranks  of  the 
enemy,  a  death  blow  was  dealt  the  Gothic  cause, 
and  disorder  and  flight  soon  gave  the  victory 
Into  the  hands  of  the  Moslems. 

But  while  the  VIsIgothIc  defeat  put  an  end  to 
their  early  empire,  Roderick  was  by  no  means 
the  last  of  the  VIsIgothIc  kings  of  Spain.  A  con- 
siderable remnant  of  the  VIsIgothIc  army,  com- 
posed of  Its  most  determined  and  resolute  leaders, 
found  Its  way  into  the  mountain  fastnesses  of  the 
north,  where,  within  seven  years  of  their  flight 
from  the  plains  of  Xeres,  the  Goths  had  founded 
a  new  kingdom,  that  of  the  Asturlas.  Other  small 
kingdoms  under  the  rule  of  noble  Goths  soon 
began  to  spring  up  around  that  of  the  Asturlas. 
Disunion  and  intestine  strife  were  to  prove  a 
source  of  weakness  for  many  years,  but  these  petty 
states  were  destined  to  grow  In  strength  and 
unity  until  in  the  end  they  won  back  the  entire 
peninsula  to  Christian  rule. 

Side  by  side,  therefore,  with  the  brilliant  Sara- 
cenic civilization  produced  by  the  Arabs  and 
Moors  in  Spain,  the  student  must  bear  in  mind 
the  growth  of  this  northern  power  which  was  at 
once  the  survival  of  the  old  Gothic  empire  and 
the  germ  of  the  modern  kingdom  of  Spain.  The 
kings  of  Spain  may  still  trace  their  descent 
through    these   princes    in   the    north   to    the    early 

48 


THE  VISIGOTHS 

Gothic  kings,  and  a  large  proportion  of  the  Span- 
ish nobility  to-day  are  of  VIsIgothIc  blood. 
•  •  •  •  • 

In  the  field  of  the  Fine  Arts  the  VIsIgothIc 
period  was  the  most  unproductive  of  any  of  the 
great  epochs  of  Spanish  history.  Except  in  the 
domain  of  letters  there  are  no  works  of  im- 
portance left  to  us,  and  even  the  so-called  Gothic 
literature  was  largely  Inspired  by  Rome,  and  the 
work  of  Greek  or  Roman  churchmen  in  the  Latin 
tongue.  The  most  eminent  of  the  Spanish  writers 
of  the  VIsIgothIc  period,  Isidro,  Bishop  of  Se- 
ville, was  of  neither  VIsIgothIc  nor  Spanish  blood, 
having  been  born  in  Carthaginia  of  one  Severinus, 
an  Imperial  Greek  or  Roman.  Isidro's  work  is 
largely  encyclopedic  or  historical,  and  is  our  chief 
source  of  information  to-day  with  regard  to  his 
age,  and  earlier.  In  Spain.  The  works  of  his 
brother  Leandro,  those  of  Ildefonso  of  Toledo, 
and  others  whom  we  might  recall,  are  more  dis- 
tinctly ecclesiastical;  but  all  are  written  in  Latin, 
and,  as  the  power  of  the  church  gradually  over- 
shadowed that  of  the  kingship,  even  the  VIsI- 
gothIc tongue  was  forgotten  and  Latin  became 
the  language  of  the  court. 

Primarily  warriors,  the  Visigoths  held  learning 
and  the  arts  of  civilization  in  open  contempt;  and 
it  was  the  enjoyment  of  luxuries  and  refinement, 
rather  than   their  production,   to   which   they  later 

49 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

gave  themselves  up.  They  revelled  in  what  they 
found  of  Roman  culture  In  both  Provence  and 
Spain,  but  they  adopted  rather  than  absorbed, 
and   utterly   failed   to   develop   creative  power. 

That  other  Teutonic  people,  the  Franks,  found 
much  less  of  Roman  work  in  the  He  de  France 
than  was  left  by  the  Empire  in  Spain.  But  from 
what  they  found,  together  with  what  they  gleaned 
from  a  variety  of  sources,  the  Franks  developed 
the  most  brilliant  architectural  style  that  the 
world  has  ever  produced.  The  Visigoths  in  Spain, 
although  they  took  possession  of  some  of  the 
most  superb  Roman  walls  and  palaces,  towers, 
aqueducts,  bridges,  and  amphitheatres,  found  any- 
where In  Europe,  produced  practically  nothing. 
We  find  records  of  repairs  and  strengthening  of 
walls,  and  we  hear  of  the  building  of  a  few 
churches.  Under  Wamba  we  even  read  of  a  new 
palace.  But  neither  the  meagre  remains  of  Visi- 
gothlc  work,  nor  what  we  can  read  of  Vlsi- 
gothic  skill,  indicates  the  production  of  anything 
of  architectural  importance.  Even  Toledo  must 
have  remained  a  rough  and  worn  old  stronghold 
during  all  the  three  hundred  years  of  the  Visi- 
gothic  dominion,  and  elsewhere  not  only  was 
nothing  new  erected,  but  much  of  Roman  work 
was  wantonly   destroyed. 

Provincial  cities  with  walls  were  found  to  be 
far  more   independent   and   more   frequently   in   re- 

50 


THE   VISIGOTHS 

volt  than  those  without.  Orders  for  the  destruc- 
tion of  defences,  therefore,  were  a  common  means 
of  repression;  serving  at  once  as  a  penalty  for 
past  uprisings  and  a  measure  of  prevention  against 
their  recurrence.  It  was  not  foreseen,  of  course, 
that  the  decrees  for  the  dismantling  of  cities 
which  placed  them  at  the  mercy  of  their  Visi- 
gothic  rulers,  would  also  leave  them  defenceless 
before  Invading  Moors  and  Arabs,  and  the  ease 
with  which  the  Moslem  conquest  was  accom- 
plished Is  quite  as  much  to  be  attributed  to  earlier 
Gothic  vandalism   as   to    Moslem    prowess. 

Against  this  rude  architectural  background,  rec- 
ords of  Visigothic  splendour  of  personal  adorn- 
ment, and  accounts  of  the  pomp  and  circumstance 
which  attended  Visigothic  shows  and  festivals, 
shine  with  striking  incongruity.  A  passion  for 
silks  and  brocades,  gold  and  jewels,  was  devel- 
oped among  the  Visigoths  even  during  their  so- 
journ In  Provence;  and  during  the  height  of  their 
power  in  Spain  there  was  probably  no  city  in 
Europe  so  rich  as  Toledo  In  the  sumptuous  ap- 
pointments of  royal  and  ecclesiastical  pageants. 
Highly  coloured  accounts  of  the  magnificence  of 
Gothic  festivals  and  tournaments  are  found  in  all 
the  old  chronicles,   and  the   rich  booty*  taken  by 

*  Much  of  this  booty  Is  described  in  the  chapter  on  Toledo,  and 
it  is  most  probable  that  a  large  part  of  it  had  earlier  been  the 
spoils  of  Visigothic  wars. 

51 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

the  Moslems  at  Toledo  tests  even  the  florid  pens 
of  the  Arabian  historians. 

In  these  Arabic  descriptions  It  Is  quite  evident 
that  some  allowance  must  be  made  for  the  ar- 
dour of  oriental  pens,  as  well  as  for  the  natural 
desire  of  the  Moslem  conquerors  to  boast  of  rich 
plunder.  But,  fortunately  for  us,  striking  proofs 
of  the  Immense  luxury  of  the  Visigoths,  at  least 
In  the  enjoyment  of  the  products  of  the  Indus- 
trial arts.  Is  furnished  by  the  recovery  of  the 
famous  Gothic  crowns.  The  latter  are  a  part  of 
the  treasure  dug  up,  In  1858,  at  Guarrazar,  a 
village  six  miles  from  Toledo,  on  a  spot  once  oc- 
cupied by  a  Gothic  sanctuary.  Unfortunately  a 
large  part  of  the  treasure  was  lost,  the  Ignorant 
labourers  who  first  found  It  having  sold  many  ar- 
ticles of  Inestimable  value  to  silversmiths  wht> 
melted  them  down  before  the  authorities  were 
aware  of  their  discovery.  Some  Idea  of  their 
importance  may  be  gained  from  the  fact  that 
what  remains, — eleven  gold  crowns,  two  crosses, 
and  a  quantity  of  fragments  of  gold  and  jewels, 
— are  regarded  to-day  as  the  most  Important  col- 
lection In  Europe  of  jewel  work  of  the  period  of 
the  VIsIgothIc  empire  In  Spain. 

Two  of  these  crowns  are  now  in  the  Royal 
Armoury  at  Madrid,  and  nine  are  in  the  Cluny 
Museum  at  Paris.  All  are  called  votive  crowns  t 
for   all   have   chains  by  which   they   are  supposed 

5a 


THE   VISIGOTHS 

to  have  been  suspended  In  the  sanctuary.  Such 
circles  of  gold,  sometimes  with  pendant  lamps, 
were  frequently  hung  before  altars  during  the 
middle  ages,  and  the  name  crown  was  equally 
applied  to  them  and  to  those  worn  on  the  head.^ 
It  IS  not  Improbable  that  votive  crowns  were  fre- 
quently worn  before  they  were  devoted  to  the 
service  of  the  sanctuary.  The  size  and  form  of 
the  rims  of  some  of  those  of  Guarrazar  strongly 
suggest  that  they  were  so  used,  and,  if  we  may 
credit  Conde,  the  wearing  of  crowns  was  a  luxury 
largely  Indulged  In  by  the  Visigoths.  He  tells  us 
that  the  four  hundred  Gothic  hostages  of  royal 
Hood,  carried  by  the  victorious  Arabian  general 
to  Syria  to  grace  his  triumph,  all  wore  golden 
crowns  on  their  heads  as  well  as  golden  girdles. 
The  same  author  further  records  that  the  Moors 
found  In  a  secluded  corner  of  the  royal  palace 
at  Toledo  twenty-five  gold  crowns  Inlaid  with  hya- 
cinths^ and  other  precious  stones;  "  for,"  he  adds, 
"  It  was  the  custom,  after  the  death  of  a  king, 
that  his  crown,  after  having  engraved  upon  it  his 
name,  age,  and  the  length  of  his  reign,  should  be 
laid   aside  here." 

All   the   crowns   of  Guarrazar  bear   inscriptions, 

5  The  huge  circles  of  such  mediaeval  candelabra  as  that  in  the 
cathedral  at  Hildesheim  were  doubtless  derived  from  the  above 
custom. 

6  Hyacinth,  a  red  variety  of  zircon  sometimes  used  as  a  gem. 

53 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

or  pendant  letters,  which  Indicate  the  names  of 
the  Gothic  kings  by  whom  they  were  offered  to 
the  sanctuary.  If  they  were  ever  worn,  the  pen- 
dant letters  and  other  pendant  ornaments,  with  the 
chains,  must  have  been  added  when  they  were 
hung  up  as  votive  crowns.  The  designs  and  de- 
tails of  the  eleven  crowns  differ  very  materially; 
and,  as  a  rule,  the  pendant  ornaments  are  of 
coarser  workmanship  than  the  crowns  themselves. 
All  betray  a  certain  rudeness  which  Is  common  to 
their  age,  but  they  also  display  a  splendour,  and 
even  a  beauty,  which  Is  truly  surprising.  There  are 
rosettes  formed  of  jewels,  and  a  delicate  orna- 
mentation of  cloisonne  work.  Some  of  the  colour 
IS  supplied  by  what  appears  to  be  red  glass,  but 
there  are  also  magnificent  pearls  and  sapphires, 
as  well  as  rich  designs  In  gold.  Some  of  the 
chains  are  made  of  leaves,  pierced  Into  lace  like 
designs,  which  are  attached  by  links;  and  the  bor- 
der of  some  of  the  crowns  Is  formed  by  a  network  of 
small  but  massive  gold  balustrades,  having  be- 
tween them  square  spaces  In  which  pearls  and 
sapphires  are  set^ 

The  personal  magnlficance  of  the  Visigoths  is 
fully  attested  by  the  beauty  and  richness  of  these 
crowns.  But  by  far  the  more  important  question 
remains — By  whom  and  where  were  they  made? 
[Upon    this   point   leading   authorities   differ.      The 

'^  Riano. 

54 


THE  VISIGOTHS 

names  of  the  donors  attached  to  them  must  at 
least  have  been  added  in  Spain,  but  It  has  already 
been  remarked  that  the  pendant  letters  and  orna- 
ments frequently  differ  In  style  and  workmanship 
from  the  crowns  themselves.  By  some  authori- 
ties the  workmanship  of  the  crowns  Is  thought  to 
resemble  certain  ornaments  of  the  Merovingian 
period  In  France,  and  some  of  the  details  are  said 
to  be  found  only  In  the  work  of  Germanic  na- 
tions. But  the  frequently  recurring  combination  of 
circles,  imbrications,  and  palms,  which  appears 
equally  In  Roman,  Greek,  and  Asiatic  jewels,  go 
far  to  prove  a  common  origin,  and  that  In  the 
East,  for  all  the  gold  and  silversmith's  work  pro- 
duced at  this  time  both  In  the  north  and  south  of 
Europe.  Jewel  work  everywhere  was  In  a  high 
state  of  development,  and  technical  methods  all 
over  Europe  are  found  to  be  similar  to  those  in 
the  East.  Even  the  red  glass  cloisonne,  which 
one  authority  claims  as  made  only  by  Teutonic 
peoples,  was  found  by  RIano  at  Wiesbaden  in  a 
plaque  which  bears  the  name  of  a  Sassanlde  king 
of   the   third   century   of   our   era. 

That  Eastern  designs  and  methods  of  gold- 
smith's work  should  be  Introduced  Into  Rome  and 
Byzantium,  arid  should  spread  from  those  centres 
throughout  Europe,  should  not  be  surprising.  It 
is   only   what   has    occurred   in    all   other   branches 


55 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

of  artistic  activity.  Rome  first,  and  later  Byzan- 
tium, were  In  constant  and  close  touch  with  East- 
ern civilization;  and  during  several  centuries  By- 
zantium was  the  art  school  for  all  Christian  na- 
tions. Not  only  were  Byzantine  Ivories,  minia- 
tures, and  jewels  sent  all  over  Europe,  but  By- 
zantine workmen  in  the  employ  of  the  church, 
everywhere  followed  the  spread  of  the  faith. 
When  the  Visigoths  took  possession  of  Provence 
they  undoubtedly  found  there,  as  part  of  the  high 
civilization  of  Rome,  skilled  artisans  in  all  de- 
partments of  Industrial  art,  whose  works  they 
greedily  employed  to  add  to  their  new  and  unac- 
customed magnificance. 

In  view  of  the  long  period  of  disruption  and 
warfare  which  had  preceded  their  conquest,  it 
Is  doubtful  whether  they  found  such  workmen  In 
Spain.  But,  when  once  their  kingdom  was  estab- 
lished, nothing  could  be  more  probable  than  the 
importation  of  craftsmen  to  direct  the  manufac- 
ture of  the  showy  luxuries  which  they  seem 
especially  to  have  prized.  Such  a  procedure  is 
far  more  likely  than  that  the  Visigoths  them- 
selves or  the  native  Spaniards  should  have  in- 
vented or  executed  such  work  alone.  The  royal 
crowns  of  Guarrazar  may  have  been  manufactured 
in  Spain,  possibly  they  were  partially  the  result  of 
Spanish  labour,  but  only  the  presence,   in  the  be- 

56 


THE   VISIGOTHS 

ginning  at  least,  of  a  large  and  Influential  colony 
of  Eastern  artisans,  can  account  for  their  produc- 
tion in  the  peninsula,  for  their  splendour  of  de- 
sign, and  for  the  magnificence  of  the  Visigothic 
court  as  described  by  early  writers. 


57 


Chapter  III 
THE  ARABS  AND  MOORS 

FEW  things  In  history  are  more  remarkable 
than  the  swift  spread  of  the  Arabian  em- 
pire after  Its  foundation  by  Mahomet.  Be- 
fore that  date  (622)  the  Arabs  scarcely  possessed 
a  nationality,  but  within  a  dozen  years  of  the 
death  of  the  prophet,  the  authority  of  the  caliphs 
who  claimed  to  succeed  him  had  been  acknowl- 
edged In  Syria,  Persia,  and  portions  of  Egypt; 
and  a  hundred  years  later  their  empire  extended 
from  India  to  the  Atlantic. 

During  Its  earlier  years  the  union  of  the 
rapidly  growing  empire  was  comparatively  close. 
The  caliph,  who  was  the  head  of  both  church 
and  state,  wielded  an  absolute  authority.  From 
Medina  first,  and  later  from  Damascus,  he  dis- 
patched armies  to  fresh  conquests,  and  emirs  to 
govern  provinces  and  receive  and  transmit  the 
rich  spoils  and  enormous  tribute  which  soon  began 
to  flow  back  into  his  treasury. 

But  so  sudden  an  accession  of  wealth  and 
power  could  produce  but  one  result,  namely,  the 
loss  of  the  early  spiritual  mission  of  the  prophet, 
with    the    development    of    an    ordinary    oriental 

58 


THE   ARABS   AND   MOORS 

despotism  which,  through  Its  Inherent  weakness, 
must  soon  fall  to  pieces.  Indeed  the  seeds  of 
disintegration  were  soon  sown.  In  644,  a  dozen 
years  after  the  death  of  Mahomet,  revolution  and 
murder  marked  the  accession  of  a  new  caliph,  and 
the  court,  then  removed  to  Damascus,  soon  be- 
came a  very  sink  of  Iniquity.  Yet,  for  the  first 
hundred  years,  the  brilliance  of  Moslem  con- 
quests, coupled  with  their  mild  and  liberal  rule, 
held  together  almost  without  a  break  the  unwieldy 
federation  whose  climax  of  power  was  to  be 
reached   in  the  conquest  of  Spain. 

As  early  as  647,  Moslem  armies  began  to  make 
forays  along  the  north  coast  of  Africa.  There 
they  encountered,  In  the  cities  still  tributary  to 
Constantinople,  the  last  remnants  of  the  provincial 
power  of  Rome,  and  the  more  or  less  stubborn 
resistance  of  the  native  Berber  tribes.  Al- 
though the  hold  of  Constantinople  had  long  been 
slackening,  many  campaigns  were  required,  and 
sixty  years  had  elapsed  before  the  entire  region 
was  subdued.  The  conquest  of  the  western  part 
of  this  north  coast,  called  by  the  Arabs,  Al- 
Magreb — The  land  of  the  West,  or  the  Sun- 
set,— was  accomplished  under  the  brilliant  leader- 
ship of  Musa  ben  Nosier,  an  Arabian  general  of 
marked  military  ability,  who  was  destined  also  to 
complete   the   subjugation   of   Spain. 

The    name    Mauritanlans    or    Moors,    meaning 

59, 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

dark  skinned,  had  been  given  by  the  Romans  to 
the  Berber  peoples  who  occupied  this  African  re- 
gion; and,  as  the  Moors  formed  numerically  the 
largest  portion  of  the  Moslem  host  which  con- 
quered Spain  In  711,  it  is  usual  to  give  their  name 
to  the  period  of  Moslem  rule.  But  it  should  be 
borne  in  mind  that,  at  the  time  of  the  conquest, 
the  Moors  were  subject  to  the  Arabs,  and  that 
for  three  hundred  years  the  Arabs  held  the  bal- 
ance  of  power   In   Moslem   Spain. 

By  some  the  Berbers  are  considered  to  be 
closely  akin  to  the  Arabs,  which  relationship,  if 
true,  would  necessitate  the  recognition  of  the 
Arabs  as  of  Mediterranean  stock.  But  whatever 
the  origin  of  the  Arabs,  whether  African  or 
Asiatic,  the  language  and  traditions  of  Arabs  and 
Berbers  betray  many  similarities.  A  common 
culture,  if  not  a  common  ancestry,  is  universally 
recognized,  and  both  are  classed  among  those  peo- 
ples whose  civilization  is  known  as  Semitic. 
Through  this  apparently  recognized  relationship, 
as  well  as  by  force  of  arms,  Musa  was  quickly  en- 
abled, not  only  to  extend  the  sovereignty  of  the 
caliphs  to  the  Atlantic,  but  to  win  large  numbers 
of  these  Berber  peoples  to  the  dogmas  of  the  new 
faith.  Later  their  native  independence  rendered 
them  a  most  unstable  part  of  the  Arabian  em- 
pire, and  a  relapse  Into  a  number  of  independent 
states,    some    of    whose    Moslemism    was    largely 

60 


THE   ARABS   AND  MOORS 

coloured  by  an  earlier  paganism,  was  the  final  re- 
sult. 

For  the  time,  however,  the  new  faith  inspired 
widespread  enthusiasm,  and  nothing  could  have 
been  suggested  better  calculated  to  maintain  the 
loyalty  of  the  new  province  and  the  ardour  of 
the  new  converts  than  a  forward  movement  into 
Spain.  The  peninsula  was  reputed  to  be  a  land 
of  inexhaustible  resources  and  magical  fertility. 
The  Moors  had  long  cast  covetous  eyes  across 
the  narrow  straits,  and  had  already  attempted 
depredations  along  the  Spanish  coasts.  The  popu- 
larity of  a  new  movement  was  beyond  question; 
and,  even  without  the  opening  afforded  by  Gothic 
treason,  a  Moslem  invasion  of  the  Spanish  pen- 
insula  must   have  been   inevitable. 

But,  with  the  wisdom  of  an  able  leader,  Musa 
played  his  part  with  extreme  caution.  The  in- 
trigues of  exiled  Jews,  and  even  the  invitation  sent 
by  disaffected  Goths,  with  their  offers  of  rewards 
and  alliance,  might  prove  a  trap  which  would 
cripple  the  undertaking  at  the  outset.  He  de- 
layed, therefore,  ostensibly  until  he  should  receive 
the  express  sanction  of  the  Caliph,  but  in  reality 
for  what  was  of  far  more  real  importance,  the 
report  of  spies  sent  over  into  Spain.  From  them 
It  was  learned  that  the  chances  of  success  were 
even  greater  than  they  had  been  led  to  expect. 
The  degeneration   of  the  Visigoths  had   so   wcak- 

6z 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

ened  their  early  martial  spirit  that  descents  of 
pirates  upon  the  undefended  Spanish  coasts  were 
regarded  with  Indifference.  So  low  had  they 
sunk  that  they  were  found  practically  "  without 
industry,  without  commerce,  and  without  arms/* 
With  this  reassurance  as  to  the  weakness  of  the' 
enemy,  and  with  Ceuta  in  his  hands  as  a  base  of 
operations,  Musa  sent  over  two  preliminary  ex- 
peditions. 

In  July,  710,  Abu-Zarah-Tarif  landed  at  what 
is  now  Algeclras,  made  a  predatory  incursion  in- 
land, and  returned  reporting  practically  no  oppo- 
sition. A  second  expedition  was  at  once  fitted  out 
under  an  able  Berber  lieutenant,  Tarik  ben  Zeyed. 
Although  TarIk  is  said  to  have  commanded  only 
fifteen  hundred  horse,  he  landed  on  the  coast  of 
Andalusia  and  ravaged  the  country  with  perfect 
impunity.  Then,  whether  or  not  he  returned  for 
reinforcements,  a  point  upon  which  authorities 
differ,  the  thirtieth  of  April,  711,  found  TarIk 
entrenched  at  the  base  of  the  great  rock,  until 
then  known  as  Calpe,  one  of  the  pillars  of  Her- 
cules, but  afterwards  to  take  his  name,  GIbel 
Tarik — The  mountain  of  Tarik — since  corrupted 
into  Gibraltar.  The  rapid  campaign  which  fol- 
lowed was  crowned  within  three  months  by  the 
victory  on  the  banks  of  the  Guadalete.  The 
Moors  numbered  not  a  third  of  the  Gothic  army, 
but  they  were  light  and  swift  and  inured  to  hard 

62 


THE   ARABS   AND  MOORS 

fighting;  and,  what  was  of  far  greater  impor- 
tance, they  were  desperate,  for  Tarik  had  liter- 
ally  burned   his   ships   behind   him. 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  Gothic  de- 
feat on  the  banks  of  the  Guadalete  was  caused  by 
Gothic  treason  rather  than  by  Moslem  prowess, 
but  it  is  equally  true  that  a  Gothic  victory  could 
have  meant  little  more  than  a  postponement,  for 
a  time,  of  the  Moslem  conquest  of  Spain.  The 
Arabs  and  the  Moors  possessed  the  virility  that 
the  Goths  had  lost,  and  their  final  triumph  was 
inevitable.  It  is,  of  course,  true  that  all  of  Spain 
was  not  conquered  in  one  battle;  much  was  left 
to  be  accomplished  by  Musa's  army,  which  soon 
followed  that  of  Tarik.  But  after  so  decisive  a 
victory  little  resistance  was  to  be  expected,  and 
within  the  short  space  of  two  years  the  chief 
cities  of  the  main  body  of  the  peninsula  were  in 
Moslem   hands. 

The  story  of  that  two  years,  as  well  as  of  all 
the  early  period  of  the  Moslem  empire  in  Spain, 
is  picturesque  to  the  last  degree,  and  has  served 
more  than  one  writer  with  materials  for  ro- 
mance. In  the  very  beginning,  Musa  was  jeal- 
ous of  the  brilliant  success  achieved  by  Tarik, 
and  sent  him  commands  to  cease  operations  un- 
til his  arrival.  But  Tarik,  well  knowing  that 
the  fruits  of  his  victory  would  be  lost  if  it  were 
not    followed    up    at    once,    ventured    to    disobey; 

63 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

and  Cordova  and  Toledo,  besides  a  number  of 
smaller  cities,  had  been  reduced  before  the  arrival 
of  Musa.  The  latter,  therefore,  landed  in  Spain 
deeply  incensed  against  his  subordinate,  who  had 
already  reaped  so  rich  a  harvest  of  glory  as  to 
appear  a  dangerous  rival.  But  Tarik  was  in  the 
far  north,  and,  before  a  meeting  with  him  could 
be  accomplished,  Musa's  conquests  of  Seville, 
Merida,  and  the  most  of  the  province  of  Lusi- 
tania,  furnished  some  ground  for  his  boast  that 
he  had  added  another  kingdom  to  the  vast  em- 
pire of  the  caliphs.  To  Musa,  therefore,  belongs 
the  glory  of  the  subjugation  of  most  of  southern 
Spain,  but  to  Tarik  that  of  the  first  great  victory, 
and  the  conquest  of  the  north. 

The  rival  conquerors  finally  came  together  at 
Talavera  de  la  Reyna.  Musa  was  wrathful  and 
haughty,  Tarik  dignified  and  respectful.  The  lat- 
ter maintained  that  his  only  desire  had  been  to 
spread  the  faith  of  the  prophet  and  build  up  the 
empire  of  the  caliphs,  and  his  enormous  and  rich 
booty  was  placed  unreservedly  at  the  disposal  of 
Musa.  But  Musa  was  not  to  be  appeased,  and 
shortly  after  the  entry  of  the  two  armies  into  Toledo, 
Tarik  was  openly,  and  In  the  name  of  the  Caliph, 
deprived  of  his  command.  Later,  because  of  the 
outcry  raised  by  his  followers,  he  was  restored 
to  It,  but  jealousy  and  lack  of  harmony  between 
the  two  generals  finally   necessitated  the   recall   of 

64 


THE   ARABS   AND  MOORS 

both  to  Damascus.  Musa  is  said  to  have  made 
the  journey  surrounded  by  the  pomp  of  a  numer- 
ous escort,  carrying  with  him  as  captives  four 
hundred  Gothic  nobles,  together  with  an  enor- 
mous booty.  By  the  gift  of  such  valuable  spoils 
he  hoped  to  attest  his  success  In  war,  and  dis- 
arm the  displeasure  of  the  Caliph.  The  two 
leaders  were  finally  confronted  In  the  royal  pres- 
ence, and  there,  according  to  many  early  writers, 
culminated  the  romantic  story  of  the  famous  table 
of  Solomon. 

This  jewelled  treasure,  with  other  booty  taken 
by  Tank  at  or  near  Toledo,  had  been  handed 
over  to  Musa,  who  upon  receiving  It  had  Imme- 
diately discovered  that  one  of  Its  legs  was  miss- 
ing. Now  Tarik  had  secretly  broken  It  off  and 
secreted  It,  but  upon  being  questioned,  he  had 
declared  that  the  table  was  mutilated  when  he 
found  It.  When,  therefore,  Musa,  In  his  turn, 
presented  the  table  to  the  Caliph  as  a  part  of 
the  fruits  of  his  victories,  and  when  he  also  was 
asked  to  account  for  the  missing  leg,  he  likewise 
explained  that  he  had  found  It  broken  and  the 
leg  lost.  Then  Tank  produced  the  leg,  and, 
fitting  It  to  the  table,  proved  to  the  Caliph  that 
it  was  he,  and  not  Musa,  who  had  captured  the 
treasure,  and  that  at  least  a  part  of  the  conquest 
of  Spain  had  been  the  result  of  his  leadership. 

Although   the    legend   of   the    table    further   re- 

65 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

cords  that  Its  beauty  and  value  caused  it  to  be 
preferred  by  the  Arabs  to  the  throne  at  Damas- 
cus, the  entire  story  Is  considered  by  most  his- 
torians to  have  been  an  Arabic  Invention.  Even 
the  existence  of  a  jewelled  table  Is  sometimes 
denied.  But  It  remains  true  that  Tarik  was  able 
In  some  way  to  clear  himself  of  the  accusations 
of  Musa,  and  to  confound  the  latter  In  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Caliph,  proving  that  Musa  and  not 
he  was  responsible  for  the  altercations  which  had 
necessitated  the  recall  of  both  to  Damascus.  Be- 
cause of  real  and  brilliant  service  to  the  state, 
however,  Musa  would  probably  have  escaped  with 
only  a  reprimand  but  for  the  sudden  death  of 
the  Caliph  who  had  recalled  him,  and  to  whom 
his  enormous  booty  had  been  offered.  The  new 
Caliph,  resenting  Musa's  refusal  to  delay  his  ar- 
rival at  Damascus  until  his  accession  (the  death 
of  the  former  Caliph  had  long  been  Imminent), 
and  angry  at  the  consequent  loss  of  honour  and 
treasure  to  his  reign,  signalized  his  enthronement 
by  the  punishment  of  the  great  general.  Impris- 
onment and  Impoverishment,  therefore,  were 
Musa's  final  reward  for  the  addition  of  its 
richest  province  to  the  Arabian  empire. 

After  his  exoneration  In  the  presence  of  the 
Caliph,  Tarik  drops  out  of  sight  In  the  history 
of  Spain,  but  there  remains  another  chapter  In 
the   story   of    the    disgraced    and    unhappy    Musa. 

66 


THE   ARABS  AND  MOORS 

Before  leaving  Spain  Hc'  had  appointed  his  fa- 
vourite son,  Abd-al-Aziz,  governor  of  that  province 
during  his  absence.  Whether  the  latter  was  able 
and  upright  or  weak  and  designing  Is  a  matter 
of  varying  opinion;  but,  owing  to  his  romantic 
love  for  the  beautiful  EgUona,  and  his  tragic 
death,  he  has  become  one  of  the  most  popular 
heroes  of  the  Moorish  conquest  of  Spain.  He 
fell  beneath  the  poniards  of  assassins,  under  or- 
ders from  the  Caliph,  at  Seville,  and  his  head 
was  Immediately  sent  to  Damascus.  The  Caliph, 
without  a  word  of  warning,  showed  It  to  the  un- 
happy Musa,  asking  him  with  a  bitter  smile  If 
he  recognized  It.  The  exclamation  of  the 
wretched  father,  "  Cursed  be  he  who  has  de- 
stroyed a  better  man  than  himself,"  was  the  last 
cry  of  a  broken  heart.  The  last  days  of  Musa 
were  spent  In  the  desert  of  Arabia,  but  happily 
for  him  they  were   few. 

•  •  •  •  • 

The  term  Saracenic,  meaning  levantinc  or  east- 
ern, has  long  been  applied  to  the  polished  civil- 
ization and  brilliant  scholarship  whose  production 
by  Moslem  peoples  Is  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
things  In  history.  Although  we  find  records  In- 
dicating a  high  degree  of  culture  among  certain 
of  the  ancient  Arabs,  they  had  become  a  primi- 
tive and  unlettered  people  centuries  before  the 
birth    of    Mahomet;    their    only    arts    those    of    a 

67 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

rude  nomadic  life,  and  their  only  literature  the 
verse  of  the  wandering  story-teller.  So  lightly 
did  they  esteem  the  learning  of  other  peoples  that 
it  was  one  of  the  early  successors  of  the  prophet 
who  gave  the  order  for  the  ruthless  destruction  of 
the  Alexandrian  library.  But  within  a  hundred 
years  of  that  costly  conflagration,  literature  was 
enjoying  the  munificent  patronage  of  the  caliphs, 
and  the  rapid  assimilation  by  Moslem  peoples  of 
the  arts  and  sciences  found  in  conquered  countries 
had  begun.  The  question  at  once  present^  Itself, 
therefore, — From  whence  came  their  Inspiration 
and  ability? 

In  an  inquiry  into  the  sources  of  Saracenic 
culture,  the  earlier  development,  in  the  countries 
which  rapidly  fell  under  Arabian  dominion,  of  a 
high  degree  of  civilization,  must  be  considered  as 
of  the  first  importance.  It  must  be  remembered 
that  the  early  followers  of  Mahomet  conquered 
many  provinces  of  the  decaying  Byzantine  empire, 
and  that  Egypt,  Greece,  Persia,  and  much  of 
India  soon  yielded  to  their  dominion.  But,  as 
other  semi-barbaric  invasions  had  preceded  the 
Moslems  Into  many  of  these  countries  and  had 
assimilated  or  produced  nothing,  a  natural  sus- 
ceptibility to  refinement  and  a  certain  degree  of 
creative  power  must  be  recognized  in  the  Arab 
stock. 

It    is    true,    of    course,    that    the    Arabs    them- 

68 


THE   ARABS   AND  MOORS 

selves  formed  but  a  small  proportion  of  the  many 
and  diverse  peoples  rapidly  added  to  their  vast 
empire;  also  that  Saracenic  culture  differed  mate- 
rially In  different  localities.  But  for  many  years, 
and  in  almost  every  province,  the  Arabs  formed 
the  ruling  class,  and  ruling  classes  have  rarely 
failed  to  control  the  trend  of  the  culture 
produced.  Moreover,  the  universally  ac- 
cepted laws  of  the  faith  added  largely  to  the 
widespread  prevalence  of  many  characteristics.  As 
a  consequence,  while  we  find  marked  local  pecu- 
liarities, the  result  of  native  influences,  Saracenic 
civilization  everywhere  displays  many  similarities, 
due  to  the  somewhat  capricious  Arabian  taste  or 
to  the  trend  and  limitations  of  Arabian  ability, 
which  similarities,  especially  In  their  architecture, 
constitute  an  unmistakable  style. 

For  centuries  before  the  birth  of  Mahomet, 
little  is  known  of  the  attainments  of  the  primitive 
inhabitants  of  Arabia.  As  they  were  worshippers 
of  the  stars,  they  undoubtedly  possessed  some 
knowledge  of  astronomy.  But  we  are  told  that 
the  science  upon  which  the  Arabs  most  prided 
themselves  was  that  of  their  own  language,  with 
the  construction  of  extemporaneous  verse  and  the 
elegance  of  discourse.  Al-Makkari  observes  that: 
"  Science  was  sent  to  the  brains  of  the  Greeks, 
the  hands  of  the  Chinese,  and  the  tongues  of  the 
Arabs." 

69 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

Their  natural  bent,  therefore,  was  toward  music 
and  literature,  in  both  of  which  forms  of  expres- 
sion they  have   always   excelled. 

But  In  the  domain  of  the  monumental  arts  the 
Arabs  had  accomplished  practically  nothing  before 
they  began  that  career  of  conquest  which  was 
to  carry  their  empire  far  to  the  east,  and  three- 
fourths  of  the  way  around  the  shores  of  the 
Mediterranean.  The  one  architectural  monument 
of  note  which  had  been  produced  by  them  in 
Arabia,  the  reconstruction  of  the  antique  shrine 
at  Mecca,  ^  was  the  work  of  a  wandering  Egyp- 
tian architect,  no  native  workmen  apparently  hav- 
ing  sufficient   skill   to   undertake    the    task. 

Surrounded  by  conditions  which  necessitated  a  no- 
madic existence,  for  at  least  a  large  proportion 
of  the  population;  by  tribal  feuds  which  entailed 
for  all  a  state  of  constant  warfare;  and  imbued 
from  the  earliest  times  with  the  repugnance  to 
the  reproduction  of  living  forms,  later  crystallized 
Into  the  Koranic  laws  forbidding  such  effort;  the 
problems  of  permanent  construction  and  monu- 
mental decoration  had  never  presented  themselves 
to  these  children  of  the  desert.  Even  In  the  few 
cases  of  permanent  settlements,  an  essentially  no- 
madic   character    was    preserved    in    all    arrange- 

1  Rendered  necessary  during  the  lifetime  of  Mahomet  by  the 
destruction,  by  fire,  of  the  earlier  framework  of  sticks  and  palm 
branches    covered  with  textile  hangings. 

70 


THE   ARABS   AND  MOORS 

ments.  Shelter  was  furnished  by  the  simplest  of 
tent  like  enclosures,  and  ornament  was  limited  to 
conventional  or  geometrical  patterns  woven  or  em- 
broidered Into  fabrics,  or  traced  upon  armour  or 
rude  utensils.  It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that  the 
creative  effort  of  the  Arabs  was  largely  confined 
to  the  most  primitive  of  the  Industrial  arts.  In 
which  field  their  most  Important  product  was 
woven  or  embroidered  fabrics  for  clothing,  car- 
pets,  tents,   and  saddle   cloths. 

In  all  the  region  of  Arabia  the  manufacture 
of  textiles  was  highly  developed  from  the  earliest 
times,  and  It  is  probable  that  the  modern  Arabs 
still  follow  the  methods  and  designs  practiced  by 
ancient  Chaldeans  and  Assyrians,  as  well  as  by 
their  own  ancestors.  The  fabrication  of  glazed 
pottery,  likewise,  has  long  been  especially  asso- 
ciated with  this  region,  but  It  Is  thought  that  the 
manner  of  life  of  the  Arabs,  contemporary  with, 
and  long  antecedent  to,  Mahomet,  precluded  the 
possibility  of  the  manufacture  of  anything  but 
the  ruder  sorts  of  such  ware,  finer  articles  being 
obtained  by   barter  with  neighbouring  peoples. 

Great  caravans  engaged  In  the  transportation 
of  merchandise  constantly  crossed  and  recrossed 
the  desert.  Through  them  It  was  easy  to  ex- 
change, for  the  products  of  more  settled  civiliza- 
tions, the  fine  wool  and  camel's  hair,  produced  by 
Arabian  flocks,  and  spun  by  Arab  women.     Then, 

71 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

too,  bands  of  Arabs  occasionally  joined  these  cara- 
van companies,  and  with  them  penetrated  Into 
distant  countries.  Such  Intercommunication  and 
barter  must  have  introduced  somewhat  of  the 
products  of  foreign  civilizations  into  Arabia;  but, 
in  their  purchase  as  in  their  manufacture,  the  life 
of  the  desert  forbade  to  the  wandering  Bedouin 
the  accumulation  of  superfluous  property,  or  of 
articles  whose  size  or  character  rendered  them 
difficult  of  carriage  on  the  swaying  backs  of 
camels.  Only  simple  or  Imperishable  utensils 
could  have  been  desired,  and  exotic  influence  upon 
primitive  Arabian  effort  must  be  considered  as 
comparatively    slight. 

Not  only  was  the  creative  work  of  the  Arabs 
in  a  great  measure  restricted  to  the  manufacture 
of  textiles,  but  the  character  of  its  result  was 
largely  peculiar  to  the  people  and  indigenous  to 
the  soil.  The  conventional  Interwoven  patterns; 
from  the  beginning  a  distinctive  characteristic  of 
Arabian  carpets  and  tapestries;  and,  from  their 
designers,  long  called  arabesques;  present  the 
same  fanciful  grace  and  endless  variety  found  in 
the  florid  and  exuberant  language  of  the  Arabian 
story-teller;  while  the  splendour  of  colour,  which 
fairly  vies  with  Arabian  grace  of  design,  but  re- 
produces the  brilliant  hues  seen  In  the  tropical 
vegetation  of  Arabian  pasture  lands,  or  even  in 
the   glowing   sands   of   the   desert;   one   region    to- 

72 


THE   ARABS   AND   MOORS 

day  being  known  from  its  colour  as  the  crimson 
desert. 

It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that  while  the  Arabs 
possessed  neither  talent  nor  training  for  the  prob- 
lems of  monumental  construction,  they  early 
attained  pre-eminence  in  the  field  of  conventional 
decorative  design.  As  a  consequence,  interwoven 
or  embroidered  designs  of  bright  colour  have 
formed  the  basis  of  all  Arabian  or  Saracenic  art. 

No  country  produced  a  greater  degree  of  influ- 
ence than  Syria  upon  Western  Moslem  civilization. 
The  conquest  of  Syria,  effected  as  early  as  634, 
first  placed  the  Arabs  in  touch  with  Byzantine 
civilization.  The  historic  capital,  Constantinople, 
the  repository  of  the  most  of  what  was  left  of 
Greek  science,  literature,  and  art,  was  to  resist 
Moslem  armies  for  eight  hundred  years;  but  its 
culture,  which  had  long  held  sway  in  both  Syria 
and  Egypt,  was  among  the  first  to  be  assimilated 
by  the  all-absorbing  Arabs.  Immediately  upon 
the  conquest  of  Syria,  the  seat  of  Moslem  power 
was  removed  to  Damascus,  and  before  the  close 
of  the  seventh  century,  Syrian  caliphs  are  known 
to  have  had  In  their  employ  scholars,  architects, 
artists,  and  artisans  imported  from  Constanti- 
nople. Under  the  patronage  of  these  early  suc- 
cessors of  Mahomet,  Byzantine  scholars  translated 
Into  Arabic  the  masterpieces  of  Greek  and  Roman 
literature;    and    Byzantine    workmen    wrought    ac- 

73 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

cording  to  Inherited  traditions  In  all  departments 
of  the  fine  and  Industrial  arts.  Thus  early  was 
kindled  that  marked  mental  activity  of  Moslem 
peoples,  which,  during  the  centuries  when  Chris- 
tian Europe  was  plunged  into  the  barbarism  of 
the  dark  ages,  was  to  keep  alive  the  flame  of 
ancient  learning.  Indeed,  It  Is  not  too  much  to 
say  that  the  Renaissance  In  Europe  owes  quite 
as  much  to  the  knowledge  preserved  and  devel- 
oped by  Moslem  peoples  during  the  middle  ages, 
as  to  the  re-dlscovery,  by  Christian  Italy,  In  the 
fourteenth  century,  of  Greek  and  Roman  learning. 
Beginning  with  the  awakening  of  the  Arabs, 
through  Byzantine  scholarship,  to  a  knowledge 
of  ancient  learning;  In  most  localities,  the  estab- 
lishment of  schools  rapidly  followed  the  setting 
up  of  Moslem  power:  and  not  only  was  earlier 
learning  quickly  assimilated,  but  in  many  branches 
of  science  a  marked  advance  was  made.  It  is  un- 
doubtedly true  that,  in  the  beginning  at  least,  the 
Arabs  themselves  played  the  part  of  patrons 
rather  than  producers,  and  we  know  that  certain 
of  the  subject  peoples,  especially  the  Jews,  who 
formed  a  large  percentage  of  the  population  in 
many  of  the  conquered  countries,  furnished  a 
large  proportion  of  so-called  Arabian  scholar- 
ship. But,  even  granting  that  Saracenic  culture 
was  largely  produced  by  Hebrews,  Greeks,  Ber- 
bers,   or    any    other    subject    people,    the    fact    of 

74 


THE   ARABS   AND  MOORS 

Arabian  patronage,  through  which  alone  such 
effort  was  often  rendered  possible,  must  count  for 
much  In  an  estimate  of  that  race,  and  must  give 
them  an  Important  place  In  the  history  of  civil- 
ization. Much  more,  however,  may  be  claimed 
for  them.  Not  only  Is  there  a  long  list  of  Arab 
writers  of  repute,  but  In  the  fields  of  science, 
philosophy,  and  mechanics,  the  names  of  many 
Arabs  stand  for  Investigations,  conclusions,  and 
results,  some  of  which,  lost  during  the  Christian 
persecutions,  still  baffle  modern  effort;  while  the 
distinctly  Arabic  character  of  much  of  Saracenic 
art  must  Indicate  at  least  a  certain  proportion  of 
Arab  labour. 

The  earliest  effort  of  a  conquering  people, 
especially  when  the  war-cry  of  that  people  Is  the 
watch-word  of  a  new  faith,  is  the  building  of 
temples.  It  follows,  furthermore,  as  has  already 
been  intimated,  that  a  people  with  no  architecture 
of  their  own  would  everywhere  adopt  the  styles 
of  construction  found  most  commonly  In  use  in 
the  countries  they  conquered;  their  choice  being 
limited  by  their  taste,  and  their  ability  to  repro- 
duce, or  to  employ  workmen  to  reproduce  native 
monuments  for  them.  Especially  would  this  be 
true  when,  as  in  the  present  case,  the  ritualistic 
requirements  of  the  conquering  faith  were  very 
slight.     So  simple   and   elementary  was   the   Mos- 

75 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

lem  worship  that  even  a  temple  was  never  an 
actual  necessity.  A  follower  of  Mahomet,  when 
he  prayed,  needed  only  to  turn  his  face  toward 
the  shrine  at  Mecca.  But,  with  the  spread  of  the 
Moslem  empire,  a  place  for  public  prayer,  whose 
eastern  name,  Masjid — a  place  for  worship  or 
kneeling — has  been  corrupted  Into  mosque,  became 
customary  In  every  community.  Furthermore,  as 
almost  any  kind  of  building  could  be  made  to 
serve,  local  styles  were  freely  adopted,  and  In 
many  cases  earlier  buildings  were  re-dedlcated  and 
re-used.^ 

The  main  form  of  a  mosque,  therefore.  Is  not 
a  settled  one,  and  the  universally  accepted  char- 
acteristics of  mosque  architecture  are  largely  lim- 
ited to  certain  members  and  arrangements,  such 
as  the  kiblah,  the  mimber,  and  the  minaret, 
which,  from  their  need  or  convenience,  grew  Into 
general  use;  to  those  constructive  features,  such 
as  the  arch  and  dome,  which  especially  appealed 
to  the  Arab  fancy  and  became  sufficiently  popular 
to    be    frequently    adopted    In    different    localities; 

2  Like  the  Christians  before  them,  the  followers  of  Mahomet 
were  strongly  imbued  with  a  horror  of  anything  associated  with 
idolatry,  consequently  they  rarely,  if  ever,  made  actual  re-use  of 
the  blood-stained  temples  of  pagan  faiths.  Pagan  materials,  how- 
ever, were  freely  re-dedicated  to  the  service  of  the  prophet ;  and 
many  ancient  temples  became  almost  inexhaustible  quarries  of 
dressed  stone,  and  of  the  even  more  precious  columns  which  were 
so  necessary  a  feature  of  mosque  construction. 

76 


THE   ARABS   AND  MOORS 

and  above  all,  to  the  prevailing  use  of  an  essen- 
tially Arabic  style  of  ornamentation. 

The  most  Important  architectural  monuments, 
found  In  the  countries  earliest  conquered  by  the 
followers  of  Mahomet,  were  the  columned  halls 
and  arcaded  courts  which  best  serve  for  the  con- 
gregation of  masses  of  people  In  all  tropical  re- 
gions. Such  were  the  enormous  palaces  of  Assy- 
rian and  Persian  kings,  and  such  the  Egyptian 
temples.  The  most  essential  feature  of  the  lat- 
ter,— an  arcaded  court  enclosing  or  leading  to 
a  sanctuary, — already  reproduced  In  the  recently 
erected  shrine  at  Mecca, — was  to  be  so  frequently 
adopted  elsewhere  that,  by  many.  It  has  come  to 
be  regarded  as  pre-eminently  the  typical  mosque 
form. 

Of  almost  equal  importance  with  the  arcaded 
court,  In  the  development  of  mosque  architecture, 
was  the  form  of  the  Christian  basilica.  At  this 
time,  in  most  Mediterranean  countries,  basil- 
icas had  largely  superseded,  as  places  of  worship, 
the  earlier  pagan  temples;  and,  although  not  so 
eminently  adapted  to  climatic  conditions  as  the 
earlier  style,  the  plan  of  these  Christian  churches 
answered  all  essential  Moslem  needs.  Moreover, 
as  the  faith  for  whose  service  they  had  been 
reared  inspired  none  of  the  repugnance  felt  for 
pagan  rites,  they  could  be  freely  re-used.  Indeed, 
so   tolerant  were   the   early   Moslems   of   Judaism 

77 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

and  Christianity,  with  both  of  which  faiths  they 
readily  recognized  many  points  of  affinity,  that 
in  a  number  of  Instances,  notably  at  Damascus 
and  Cordova,  the  conquering  Arabs  and  con- 
quered Christians,  for  many  years,  worshipped 
side  by  side  In  the  same  Christian  temples.  ^ 
In  each  case,  half  the  chief  Christian  church  was 
reserved  for  the  adherents  of  that  faith,  while 
the  Moslems,  by  right  of  conquest,  took  posses- 
sion of  the  other  half. 

It  win  be  seen,  therefore,  that.  In  mosque  archi- 
tecture, the  arcaded  court  of  the  pagan  temple, 
and  the  cruciform  enclosure  of  the  Christian 
basilica  furnished  the  fundamental  arrangements 
most  generally  adopted  In  Mediterranean  coun- 
tries. Of  them  all  the  most  popular  feature 
was,  undoubtedly,  the  open  court,  and  It  Is  fre- 
quently found  combined  with  the  basUIcan  form; 
either  frankly  added  as  an  exterior  enclosure,  or 
formed  by  leaving  the  heart  of  the  structure,  the 
square  at  the  crossing  of  nave  and  transept,  open 
to  the   sky. 

The  distinctive  features  of  mosque  interior  ar- 
rangements were  the  kiblah,  the  mimber,  and  the 
maksura.  At  first  a  simple  outline  of  an  arch 
drawn  upon  the  wall  Indicated  the  direction  of 
Mecca,    but   this  bare   outline   was   rapidly    devel- 

3  It  was  Christian  rather  than  Moslem  bigotry  which  fomented 
the  later  bitter  antipathy  and  strife  between  the  two  faiths. 

78 


THE  ARABS  AND   MOORS 

oped  into  a  niche,  called  a  kiblah  or  mirab,  upon 
which  was  lavished  the  richest  decoration  of  the 
entire  building.  As  httle  attention  was  paid  to 
the  orientation  of  early  mosques,  the  position  of 
the  kiblah  is  frequently  found  to  have  no  relation 
whatever  to  the  structural  lines  of  the  building, 
being  placed  in  any  corner  which  indicated  the 
point  of  the  compass  looking  toward  Mecca,  a 
point  which  varied  of  course  in  every  community. 
Its  position,  however,  always  located  the  sanctu- 
ary which,  in  arcaded  courts,  was  formed  by  a 
multiplication  of  the  arcades  upon  one  side  of  the 
enclosure  into  what  was  practically  a  columned 
hall.  But,  in  early  basilican  mosques,  the  kiblah 
and  sanctuary  were  quite  as  likely  to  be  found  In 
one  of  the  arms  of  the  transept  or  nave,  as  In 
the   apse. 

With  the  custom  of  reading  prayers  In  public, 
came  the  need  of  an  elevation  for  the  reader, 
which  produced  the  pulpit  or  mimber.  The  seat 
of  the  caliph  or  his  representative,  called  the 
maksura,  was  early  Isolated  by  a  railing,  but 
later,  when  it  became  necessary  to  protect  those 
potentates  from  the  violence  which  so  often  put 
an  end  to  their  power,  the  railing  was  replaced 
by  an  enclosing  wall.  The  location  of  both  the 
mimber  and  the  maksura  was  purely  arbitrary, 
and  bore  no  relation  to  the  structural  form  of 
the  building. 

79 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

The  most  universal  external  feature  of  a 
Mohammedan  mosque,  the  minaret,  or  muezzin 
tower,  was  the  latest  distinctive  member  of  mosque 
architecture  to  be  developed.  During  the  life  of 
the  prophet,  the  call  to  prayer  was  given  In  the 
mosque  itself.  Later  it  was  proclaimed  from  the 
threshold;  and  It  was  not  until  833,  more  than 
two  hundred  years  after  the  Hegira,  that  It  was 
decided  to  build  towers  from  which  the  voice  of 
the  Iman,  or  priest,  could  be  heard  from  a 
greater  distance.  As  with  all  other  arrange- 
ments, the  location  of  the  tower  was  chosen  with 
reference  to  its  use,  rather  than  with  regard  to 
the  architectural  composition  of  the  entire  struc- 
ture. It  was  placed  toward  the  most  thickly  pop- 
ulated district,  where  the  call  could  be  heard  by 
the  greatest  number  of  people;  and  large  or  Im- 
portant mosques  frequently  have  a  number  of 
muezzin  towers.  The  form  of  those  towers  varies 
materially  In  different  localities  and  at  different 
periods.  Early  ones  are  frequently  of  several 
stories,  square,  octagonal,  and  round,  as  they 
ascend.  But  there  are  also  examples  of  successive 
many-sided  sections  growing  smaller  toward  the 
top,  as  well  as  plain  round  or  square  towers. 
All  are  crowned  by  some  kind  of  an  open  gal- 
lery, and,  in  proportion  and  detail,  many  are  ex- 
tremely  graceful   and   elegant. 

In    matters   of    construction,    as    in    fundamental 

80 


THE   ARABS  AND  MOORS 

arrangement,  the  Arabs  largely  adopted  the 
methods  practiced  by  the  peoples  they  conquered. 
But  with  no  inherited  taste  for  solidity  and  sta- 
bility, and  no  natural  aptitude  for  the  difficult 
problems  of  monumental  building,  the  tendency 
everywhere  was  toward  light  or  roughly  built 
walls,  covered  with  a  rich  veneering  of  surface 
ornamentation.  This  ornamentation,  however,  was 
largely  confined  to  interiors;  the  superstitious  fear 
of  exciting  envy  with  the  baleful  influence  of  the 
much-dreaded  evil  eye,  tending  to  the  prevalence 
of  barren  exteriors.  In  many  regions  lacking  in 
stone,  notably  in  portions  of  Syria  and  northern 
Africa,  walls  were  commonly  built  of  a  conglom- 
erate composed  of  lime,  clay,  and  pebbles,  and 
faced  with  vitrified  bricks,  tiles,  plaster,  or  stucco. 
This  conglomerate  mixture  was  well  known  and 
freely  used  by  the  Romans,  especially  in  locations 
more  or  less  barren  of  stone,  and  the  usual 
Roman  revetment  was  of  thin  slabs  of  stone  or 
marble  which  similated  solid  construction.  But 
the  Arabs,  attracted  by  the  light  and  rapid 
method,  frequently  erected  conglomerate  walls 
when  stone  was  freely  to  be  had;  and,  having 
no  regard  for  lithic  character,  their  most  common 
revetment  was  the  stucco,  or  plaster,  which  could 
be  quickly  applied,  and  was  so  susceptible  of  dec- 
orative  treatment. 

Among    matters    of    constructive    detail    which 

8l; 


BUILDERS  OE  SPAIN 

have  long  been  regarded  as  contributing  especial 
beauty  and  distinction  to  Saracenic  architecture, 
IS  the  almost  universal  use  of  the  arch,  with  the 
wide  variety  of  the  arch  forms  employed.  It  Is 
now  generally  recognized  by  all  authorities  that 
all  forms  of  the  keystone  arch  were  originated 
in  Asia.  Not  only  Is  the  earliest  known  round 
keystone  arch  found  in  an  ancient  Assyrian  mon- 
ument, but  a  pointed  keystone  arch  has  been  dis- 
covered in  a  palace  at  Nimrud,  dating  before  800 
B.  C.  The  so-called  horseshoe  form  Is  now  said 
to  have  been  first  produced  during  the  Sassanlan 
period  in  Persia,  Its  earliest  distinctly  developed 
example  being  found  In  a  monument  on  Mt. 
Zagros,  dating  as  early  as  the  fifth  century.  Even 
the  flamboyant  arch,  with  its  double  curve,  is 
thought  by  some  authorities  to  have  been  origin- 
ated In  the  region  east  of   ancient   Chaldea. 

Each  of  these  forms,  therefore,  may  have  been 
known  to  the  Romans,  but  they  adopted  only  the 
round  arch,  leaving  to  the  Arabs  the  Introduc- 
tion into  Europe  of  the  lighter  more  fanciful 
shapes.  As  round-arched  Roman  construction  was 
found  by  the  Moslem  conquerors  in  most  of  the 
Mediterranean  countries,  the  round  arch  was  the 
form  first  adopted  In  Moslem  construction.  But 
the  more  uncommon  shapes,  eagerly  seized  upon 
in  the  East,  were  soon  everywhere  introduced,  and 
quickly  superseded  the  earlier  style  in  general  use. 

82 


THE   ARABS   AND   MOORS 

It  must  not  be  Imagined  that  arches  were 
adopted  by  Arab  builders  for  their  constructive 
value,  which  made  no  appeal  whatever  to  the 
primitive  Arabian  mind,  but  because  of  their 
grace  and  novelty.  In  fact,  in  the  earliest  Ara- 
bian use  of  the  arch,  its  constructive  value  was 
distrusted  or  Ignored;  and  In  the  concrete  walls, 
which  later  largely  superseded  those  of  stone, 
arches  frequently  possessed  no  more  technical 
value  than  if  cut  out  of  paper.  Arabian  taste 
revelled  In  caprice,  a  fact  not  only  amply  proved 
by  their  early  choice  of  novel  and  uncommon 
arch  forms,  but  by  the  endless  variety  and  strik- 
ing combinations  into  which  those  forms  were 
later  developed,  every  segment  of  a  circle  or 
combination  of  curves  possible  of  construction 
being  found  in  their  later  work. 

Only  secon3  in  importance  to  the  arch  as  a 
distinctive  feature  of  Saracenic  architecture,  was 
the  cupola,  or  dome,  which  the  Arabs  found  as 
the  most  universal  characteristic  of  Byzantine 
Christian  ecclesiastical  construction.  While  the 
long  nave  of  the  Roman  basilica  was  occasionally 
found  in  Syria  and  Egypt,  the  form  more  com- 
monly used  in  countries  subject  to  Byzantine  in- 
fluence was  that  of  the  Greek  cross,  in  which  the 
length  of  nave  and  transepts  was  equal,  and 
whose  point  of  crossing  was  covered  by  a  cupola 
or    dome.      In    all    early    construction,    and    very 

83 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 


frequently  later,  especially  in  small  churches,  these 
domes  were  supported  by  circular  drums,  which, 
in  turn,  were  carried  by  octagonal  bases  of  piers 
or  columns.  But  in  the  great  monument  of 
Sancta      Sophia      at      Constantinople,      Byzantine 


1           /-vl          1 

/ 1    \l 

/         \  1 

L\             L\ 

False  Arch 

builders  achieved  the  most  brilllait  success  of 
their  style,  in  the  support  of  a  dome  over  four 
open    arches   by   means   of   pendentlves. 

The  principle  adopted  In  the  construction  of 
the  pendentlve,  that  of  the  false  arch  (repeated 
and  overlapping  horizontal  projections).  Is  first 
found  In  the  East.  Its  earliest  use  for  the  sup- 
port of  a  domed  vault  has  been  discovered  in 
Persia,  where  it  appears  as  a  series  of  gradually 
enlarging  arches   called  squlnches.  *      By  means  of 

*  Although  the  dome  of  San.  Lorenzo  at  Milan  is  carried  by  an 
octagonal  base,  squinches,  or  stepped  arches,  are  employed  to 
equalize  the  sides  of  the  octagon  at  the  base  of  the  cupola. 

84 


THE   ARABS   AND   MOORS 

these  stepped  arches,  which  fill  the  angles,  it  was 
there  first  demonstrated  how  a  hall  of  square  plan 
could  be  covered  by  a  circular  dome  without  vertical 
supports;  and  many  early  Byzantine  domes,  as  well 
as  not  a  few  Moslem  ones,  are  supported  by  simple 
squlnch  construction.  In  Byzantine  hands,  however, 
the  angles  of  the  stepped  arches  were  smoothed  off, 
forming  what  was  called  a  pendentlve,  and  It 
will  readily  be  seen  that  a  smoothly  arching  pen- 
dentlve forms  the  most  admirable  transition  from 
a  square  or  oblong  ground  plan  to  the  circular 
base  of  a  dome.  The  pendentlve  dome  Is  not 
only  the  chief  glory  of  Byzantine  architecture, 
but  Its  most  famous  example.  In  Sta.  Sophia,  In 
which  the  pendentlves  are  supported  by  piers  and 
open  arches.  Is  the  most  brilliant  single  achieve* 
ment  of  man  In  the   art  of  building. 

It  Is  possible,  of  course,  that  the  Arabs,  like 
the  Byzantine  Greeks,  derived  their  knowledge 
of  squlnch  construction  from  the  East,  but  It  Is 
far  more  probable  that  Moslem  domes  were 
largely  erected  by  Byzantine  workmen.  Domes 
abound  In  Syria  and  Egypt,  where  such  workmen 
were  freely  to  be  had,  and  they  are  much  less 
common,  as  well  as  less  pretentious,  where  such 
aid  was  less  available.  Moreover,  nothing  that 
we  know  of  the  Arabs,  especially  In  the  begin- 
ning of  their  development.  Indicates  the  taste  or 
the  ability  to   cope  with  the   always  difficult  prob- 

85 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

lems  of  vaulted  construction.  Even  witH  the  aid 
of  Imported  craftsmen,  Moslem  domes  were  more 
frequently  supported  by  drums  than  by  penden- 
tlves,  and  they  never  attained  the  monumental 
proportions  of  those  of  purely  Byzantine  work. 
In  many  cases  they  were  built  of  timbers  covered 
with  stucco  or  tiling.  It  was  the  form,  there- 
fore, rather  than  the  solution  of  a  problem  of 
roofing,  which  struck  the  Arabian  fancy;  and,  as 
in  the  case  of  arched  openings,  domes.  In  Moslem 
hands,  were  to  assume  an  amazing  variety  of 
shapes  and  curves.  In  early  efforts,  the  low 
parabolic  form  commonly  found  in  Byzantine 
domes  is  usual,  and  a  multiplication  of  such 
domes  frequently  served  to  cover  columned  halls 
and  arcades,  each  bay  having  Its  separate  dome. 
But  In  later  Moslem  construction,  domes  were 
more  often  carried  up  to  a  point,  frequently  also 
being  drawn  In  at  the  base,  thus  reproducing  the 
outline  of  a  pointed  horseshoe  arch.  Moslem  build- 
ers in  Persia  exaggerated  this  form  Into  what  Is 
known  as  the  bulbous  dome  which  has  since  be- 
come a  distinctive  feature  of  Russian  architecture. 
In  Moslem  hands  the  principle  of  the  false 
arch  was  to  Inspire  the  production  of  unique  and 
distinctive  decorative  features.  Its  most  striking 
examples  are  found  in  the  small  timber  cupolas 
whose  domed  Interiors,  built  of  small  blocks  of 
stucco,    reproduce    the    effect    of    stepped    squlnch 

86 


THE   ARABS   AND  MOORS 

construction.  The  lower  surface  of  these  blocks 
Is  cut  Into  the  fringe-like  forms  which  give  the 
name  stalactite  to  these  roofs.  Similar  effects  are 
also  frequently  produced  In  the  semi-domes  of 
niches;  and  stalactite  ornamentation,  cut  In  stone 
or  stucco,  Is  common  In  arches,  cornices,  and 
even  In  capitals.  By  some,  these  stalactite  domes 
are  likened  to  pomegranates  picked  of  their 
seeds,  but  the  stalactite  forms  are  more  usually 
thought  to  Imitate  the  fringes  of  Arabian  tapes- 
tries; and  It  Is  not  Improbable  that,  as  walls 
were  covered  with  arabesque  designs  In  palpable 
imitation  of  the  tapestry  tent  hangings,  these  so- 
called  stalactite  ornaments  may  also  have  been 
so   derived. 

In  the  field  of  decorative  design,  the  Arabs 
readily  re-used  and  adopted  everywhere  such 
conventional  forms  as  appealed  to  their  fancy. 
Especially  was  this  true  In  Persia.  But  their 
own  traditions  furnished  such  an  Inexhaustible 
fund  of  patterns  and  motives  that  much  borrow- 
ing was  unnecessary.  In  technical  methods,  how- 
ever, as  In  construction,  everything  had  to  be 
learned;  and,  while  In  both  cases  the  actual  early 
labour  was  doubtless  performed  by  native  or  Im- 
ported workmen  under  Moslem  patronage,  great 
strides  were  quickly  made  by  the  Arabs  In  their 
assimilation  and  development.  From  Byzantine 
workmen    Moslem    builders    derived    one    of    their 

87 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

richest  means  of  ornamentation,  namely,  the  art 
of  mosaic  executed  in  minerals,  glass,  or  metal. 
This  art,  which  furnished  another  admirable 
method  by  which  to  reproduce  the  effects  of  rugs 
and  tapestry  hangings,  was  to  be  developed  into 
rare  perfection  and  beauty  In  Moslem  hands,  and 
certain  of  their  efforts,  which  have  been  preserved 
to  us,  remain  to-day  unrivalled  examples  of  such 
workmanship. 

The  facing  or  revetment  of  brick  or  clay 
walls  with  vitrified  materials,  began  as  far  as  we 
know  in  Chaldea.  There,  and  in  adjacent 
countries  lacking  in  stone,  the  practice  has  given 
a  distinct  character  to  architectural  monuments. 
The  Arabs  early  adopted  the  art  as  yet  another 
means  of  reproducing  the  textile  designs  of  their 
tapestry  tent  walls  upon  the  more  substantial 
foundation  of  brick  or  stone.  With  the  extension 
of  their  conquests,  the  manufacture  and  use  of 
tiles  was  carried  along  the  north  coast  of  Africa 
and  into  Spain;  and  from  Spain,  during  the 
Spanish  supremacy,  it  penetrated  into  the  Nether- 
lands. It  is  a  far  cry  in  more  senses  than  one 
from  Chaldean  to  Dutch  titles,  but  the  long  con- 
necting link  was  the  Arabian  product  found  in 
each  of  the  countries  which  fell  under  Arab  do- 
minion, and  whose  designs,  colour,  and  glaze, 
are  still  unrivalled  in  the   history  of  the   art. 

With   their   progress   along   the   north   coast   of 

88 


THE   ARABS   AND  MOORS 

Africa,  the  Arabs  were  thrown  more  and  more 
upon  their  own  Initiative.  Nowhere  did  they 
find  a  race  superior  to  themselves  in  constructive 
skill,  and  the  chief  monuments  were  the  Roman 
ruins  whose  stupendous  remains  served  the  con- 
querors as  quarries  rather  than  models.  As  a 
result,  early  architectural  effort  in  these  regions 
was  largely  limited  to  imitations  of  arrangements 
earlier  adopted  in  Syria  and  Egypt,  modified  or 
coloured  by  local  resources. 

The  foundation  of  the  famous  mosque  at 
Kairouan,  some  eighty  miles  south  of  Tunis,  Is 
ascribed  by  tradition  to  SIdl  Okbar,  the  com- 
panion of  the  prophet  and  founder  of  the  faith 
In  north  Africa.  Its  original  arrangements — 
thought  to  be  largely  preserved — repeat  the  fun- 
damental form  of  the  most  famous  early  mosque 
at  Cairo;  and  a  hundred  years  later  similar  ar- 
rangements were  to  be  adopted  at  Cordova. 


89 


Chapter  IV 
THE  MOSLEMS  IN  SPAIN 

f   ■   ^HE    history    of    the    Moslem    period    falls 

I  broadly  into  four  divisions: 

"■*  First — The    Emirs    (711-756). 

Second — The  Kingdom  of  Cordova  (756- 
1031). 

Third — The  African  Kings   (1031-1236). 

Fourth — The  Kingdom  of  Granada  (1236- 
1492). 

The  First  Period  Is  a  short  one,  and  serves 
merely  as  an  Introduction  to  the  other  three. 
During  these  forty-five  years,  Moslem  Spain  was 
ruled  by  governors  or  emirs,  sent  by  and  account- 
able to  the  caliphs  at  Damascus,  and  remained 
a  part  of  the  great  Arabian  empire.  Confusion 
and  disorganization  which  cost  the  peninsula  far 
more  than  its  actual  conquest,  mark  the  entire 
period. 

The  strife  was  rarely  the  result  of  native  up- 
risings, but  was  rather  the  outgrowth  of  jeal- 
ousies among  the  conquerors  themselves.  The 
Arabs,  who  represented  the  arm  of  the  caliph, 
considered    themselves    pre-eminently    the    masters 

90 


THE   MOSLEMS  IN  SPAIN 

of  the  peninsula.  But  the  Berbers  were  numerically 
largely  in  the  majority;  besides  which  they  had 
actually  won  the  first  decisive  victory  under  a 
Berber  leader,  and  had  conquered  more  than 
half  the  peninsula  before  the  arrival  of  the 
Arabs.  Then  there  were  swarms  of  other  peo- 
ples, who  had  flocked  across  the  straits  In  the 
vans  of  both  conquering  armies,  and  who  now 
joined  in  the   strife   for  the  most  desirable  lands. 

In  the  beginning,  the  Arabs  appropriated  the 
entire  fertile  southern  coast;  the  Egyptians  and 
other  Eastern  peoples  occupied  the  hot  dry  re- 
gion now  known  as  Murcia;  while  the  Berbers 
were  relegated  to  the  more  barren  plateau  of 
Castile,  where  they  formed  a  bulwark  against 
the  dispossessed  Visigoths  who  had  been  driven 
into  the  north.  But  a  little  later,  we  find  the 
Arabs  in  possession  of  the  rich  vega  of  Granada 
and  of  a  few  of  the  large  cities  toward  which  they 
early  began  to  gravitate;  the  Berbers  spread  down 
over  most  of  the  fruitful  southwest;  and  other 
peoples  left  In  subjection  to  either  Arabs  or 
Berbers. 

A  second  source  of  discord  was  the  chronic 
state  of  disorganization  found  within  the  ranks 
of  both  dominant  peoples.  The  only  unity  of 
either  Arabs  or  Berbers  was  that  of  the  tribe  or 
family,  and  both  were  constantly  split  up  into 
factions.      Indeed,    the    antagonisms    of    the    hls- 

91 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

toric  feud,  which  from  time  immemorial  has  di- 
vided the  Arabs  Into  Yemanltes  and  Maadltes,  Is 
traced  by  some  historians  all  through  the  history 
of   their   occupation   of   Spain. 

The  rivalry  for  the  chief  office,  that  of  Emir, 
was  practically  confined  to  the  Arabs,  but  It  at 
once  became  a  source  of  Intrigue,  and  the  penin- 
sula was  soon  overrun  by  aspirants  to  Its  honours 
and  emoluments.  Twenty  emirs  are  recorded  dur- 
ing this  first  period  of  forty-five  years,  while  a 
constant  stream  of  emissaries  carried  complaints 
and  accusations  back  to  the  caliphs. 

In  752,  a  revolution  at  Damascus  overthrew 
the  Maadite  house  of  Omeya,  and  elevated  to  the 
caliphate  the  Yemanite  house  of  Abbas.  This 
change  of  dynasty  not  only  furnished  another 
cause  of  disunion  to  the  already  distracted  Span- 
ish Moslems,  but  dealt  a  fatal  blow  In  the  pen- 
insula to  the  authority  of  the  Eastern  caliphs. 
The  difficulties  of  so  distant  a  rule  had  already 
produced  many  advocates  of  Spanish  independ- 
ence; and  the  period  of  disorganization  neces- 
sarily attending  the  revolution,  which  culminated 
in  the  removal  of  the  caliphate  to  the  even  more 
distant  city  of  Bagdad,  furnished  an  admirable 
opportunity  for  the  growth  of  an  independent 
party  In  Spain.  Then  there  remained  many  sup- 
porters of  the  house  of  Omeya,  who,  immediately 
after    the    revolution,     had     formed     a    party    in 

92 


THE   MOSLEMS   IN  SPAIN 

opposition  to  the  Yemanite  usurper,  Abdul-Abbas, 
A  movement  which  should  unite  these  two  fac- 
tions, therefore,  was  the  one  most  likely  to  pro- 
vide a  ruler  for  Spain. 

Such  a  movement.  In  754,  resulted  in  an  in- 
vitation to  the  Omeyad  prince,  Abd-al-Rahman, 
to  set  up  an  Independent  throne  In  Spain.  Early 
in  the  following  year  Abd-al-Rahman  landed  on 
the  coasts  of  Andalusia,  where  his  kingly  qual- 
ities rapidly  won  him  adherents.  For  a  time  his 
march  northward  was  a  continual  triumph,  but 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Cordova  a  sturdy  resist- 
ance was  offered  by  the  army  of  the  Emir,  then 
claiming  the  authority  of  the  Caliph.  In  a  great 
battle  just  outside  the  city,  Abd-al-Rahman  was 
victorious;  and  although,  for  a  number  of  years, 
opposition  and  insurrection  were  not  infrequent, 
for  all  practical  purposes  his  entry  Into  Cordova 
marks  the  elevation  of  Moslem  Spain  into  an 
independent  state,  and  Its  permanent  separation 
from  the  Eastern  empire. 

The  ready  submission  of  the  mass  of  the  native 
Spaniards  to  Moslem  rulers  is  largely  accounted 
for,  of  course,  by  their  long  dependence  upon 
alien  leaders,  and  by  the  universal  desire  to  throw 
off  the  yoke  of  the  Visigoths.  Any  change  of 
masters  would  have  been  hailed  as  a  possible 
amelioration  of  their  condition.  But  some  credit 
must  also  be  given  to  the  broad  policy  of  tolera- 

93 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

tion  practiced,  at  least  in  tKe  beginning,  by  con- 
quering Moors  and  Arabs.  Property  was  re- 
spected to  a  degree  unheard  of  before  In  similar 
conquests,  and  the  religious  liberty  permitted  by 
the  Moslems  during  the  early  years  of  their  domi- 
nation of  Spain,  gave  practically  no  cause  for  the 
desertion  of  their  homes  by  the  mass  of  the 
earlier  inhabitants.  It  is  true  that  the  hosts  of 
the  invading  Moslems  had  to  be  provided  with 
lands,  but  so  large  a  proportion  of.  Spanish  landed 
property  had  been  appropriated  during  their  later 
years,  by  the  Visigothic  nobility,  that  little  was  left 
in  the  actual  possession  of  either  Jews  or  Span- 
iards. The  Jews,  in  Spain  as  elsewhere,  had  been 
almost  exclusively  engaged  in  commerce,  and  the 
Spaniards  were  largely  slaves  attached  to  the  land, 
and  allotted  a  certain  percentage  of  its  produce  in 
return  for  their  labour. 

With  the  defeat  of  the  Goths,  therefore,  the 
ownership  of  vast  tracts  of  territory  was  left  to 
the  conquering  peoples,  who  took  possession  and 
parcelled  out  such  lands  among  themselves,  thus 
filling  the  places  of  the  earlier  "top  dressing"  of 
the  population.  But,  in  the  case  of  Spanish  own- 
ers who  remained  on  their  lands  and  offered  no 
resistance,  we  are  expressly  told  that  their  rights 
were  absolutely  respected;  further,  that  Christians 
remaining  under  Moslem  rule  were  governed  ac- 
cording to  their  own  laws. 

94) 


THE  MOSLEMS  IN  SPAIN 

A  special  head  tax  was  levied  upon  Jews  and 
Christians.  It  was  not  excessive,  but  Its  returns 
augmented  by  such  an  appreciable  amount  the 
resources  of  the  Caliph  that  proselyting  to  the 
faith  of  Islam  was  distinctly  discouraged.  Dur- 
ing the  early  years,  however,  conversions  were 
fairly  numerous.  With  many,  especially  among 
slaves  and  the  poor,  religion  meant  little  more 
than  a  vague  superstition,  and  a  convert  to  Islam- 
Ism  not  only  escaped  the  head  tax,  but,  if  a  slave, 
became  free. 

Intermarriage  was  encouraged  and  to  a  certain 
extent  Indulged  In.  The  racial  affinity  between  the 
Berbers  and  Spaniards  removed  In  a  measure  that 
antipathy  so  strongly  felt  with  other  peoples,  and 
but  for  the  development,  after  a  few  years,  of  a 
bitter  religious  hatred,  largely  fomented  by  the 
fanatical  zeal  of  the  Christian  priesthood.  It  Is 
possible  that  a  more  or  less  close  intermixture 
might  have  resulted.  But,  owing  to  this  intoler- 
ance, the  mass  of  the  Spanish  population  remained 
a  distinct  people  and  Christian.  The  name  Mo- 
zarabes,  from  the  Arabic — Must  Arab — meaning 
those  who  lived  with  and  profited  by  Arab  civ- 
ilization, came  to  be  applied  to  the  Christians  liv- 
ing in  Moslem  cities.  And  under  the  benevolent 
Moslem  administration,  both  Christians  and  Jews 
prospered  and  multiplied  exceedingly  for  many 
years. 

95 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

The  Second  Period,  that  of  the  Kingdom  of 
Cordova,  is  the  most  glorious  of  the  Moslem  do- 
minion in  Spain.  Beginning  with  the  elevation  to 
the  throne  of  Abd-al-Rahman  L,  which  inaugurated 
the  Moslem  independence  of  Spain,  the  rule  of  the 
house  of  Omeya,  with  the  supremacy  of  Cordova, 
endured  for  nearly  three  hundred  years,  and 
during  those  years  Moslem  Spain  reached 
the  zenith  of  its  power  and  prosperity.  In 
the  cultivation  of  the  fine  and  industrial  arts, 
the  peninsula  not  only  led  all  Europe  at  that 
time,  but  attained  a  position  which  it  has  neve'r 
approached  either  before  or  since. 

The  history  of  this  period  was  marked  by  four 
powerful  reigns — those  of  Abd-al-Rahman  I.  (756- 
787);  Abd-al-Rahman  III.  (912-961);  Al-Hakem 
11.  (961-976)  ;  and  of  the  powerful  vizier,  Al- 
Mansur,  who  ruled  under  the  weak  Hlxem  11. 
(976-1002).  During  these  reigns,  Moslem  power 
occasionally  reached  the  confines  of  the  peninsula; 
at  one  time  it  even  spread  into  Africa.  But  In  the 
years  which  He  between  them,  the  weakness  pro- 
duced by  internal  dissensions  frequently  tempted 
Christian  armies  to  the  very  gates  of  Cordova. 
Stately  courtesies  between  the  belligerents  were 
often  interchanged  during  the  periods  of  peace, 
but  even  then  it  behooved  each  to  be  wary. 

The  fall  of  the  Omeyad  dynasty,  and  with  it 
the  collapse  of  the  Kingdom  of  Cordova,  may  be 

96 


THE   MOSLEMS   IN  SPAIN 

attributed  to  a  number  of  causes.  To-day  it  is 
easy  to  see  that  the  Moslem  system  of  govern- 
ment was  inherently  vicious.  In  the  hands  of  a 
few  able  men  it  produced  brilliant  results,  but 
with  the  degeneration  which  is  the  inevitable  out- 
come of  an  enervating  climate  and  a  polished 
civilization,  It  undermined  and  finally  wrought  the 
ruin  of  the  Arab  power  in  Spain. 

A  constant  source  of  weakness  was  the  numer- 
ous wives  and  enormous  families  permitted,  and 
even  encouraged,  by  the  laws  of  the  prophet, 
which  at  the  death  of  the  king  left  a  number 
of  claimants  to  the  throne.  The  king  usually 
named  his  successor,  but  an  uncontested  accession 
was  rare.  In  the  very  beginning,  Abd-al-Rahman 
I.  chose  his  youngest  son,  Hixem,  the  child  of  his 
favourite  wife,  to  succeed  him.  As  a  result,  not 
only  were  there  frequent  revolutionary  uprisings 
headed  by  the  brothers  of  Hixem,  but  by  their 
children  even  unto  the  third  and  fourth  genera- 
tion. The  multiplication  of  such  pretenders,  af- 
forded by  the  families  of  successive  kings,  pro- 
duced a  constantly  increasing  crop  of  Intrigues 
and   almost  unceasing   intestine  warfare. 

With  physical  and  mental  degeneration,  came 
the  loss  of  the  early  hardihood  which  had  effected 
the  conquest  of  the  peninsula,  together  with  the 
religious  enthusiasm  which  had  inspired  and  bound 
together   the    diverse   peoples   found   In   the   ranks 

9? 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

of  the  invading  host.  This  decadence  was  most 
strongly  felt  among  the  Arabs,  and  was  especially 
to  be  seen  in  the  capital.  There,  also,  as  early 
as  the  reign  of  Abd-al-Rahman  III.,  the  power  of 
an  Arab  aristocracy  had  grown  to  such  propor- 
tions as  to  threaten  the  authority  of  the  Moslem 
King,  and  that  ruler  found  it  necessary  to  sur- 
round himself  by  a  royal  guard  of  mercenary 
Slavs.  The  introduction  of  a  paid  soldiery  has 
ever  been  one  of  the  first  indications  of  internal 
weakness,   and  prophetic  of  final   overthrow. 

Another  source  of  danger  to  the  Moslem  state 
was  the  presence  in  every  community  of  a  distinct 
and  separate  Christian  population.  The  short- 
sighted policy  of  the  Moslem  rulers,  which  dis- 
couraged proselyting  to  their  faith  for  the  sake 
of  the  revenue  from  the  tax  imposed  upon  Jews 
and  Christians,  tended  from  the  beginning  to  the 
preservation  among  the  Spanish  people  of  earlier 
Spanish  institutions,  with  a  broad  line  of  differenti- 
ation between  them  and  the  Moslems;  and  the 
later  development  of  religious  antipathy  gradually 
widened  the  gulf. 

The  most  imminent  danger,  however,  and  that 
which,  more  than  any  other,  wrought  the  ruin  of 
the  Kingdom  of  Cordova,  was  the  racial  jealousy 
and  religious  fanaticism  of  the  half-barbaric  Ber- 
bers. They  had  accepted  the  faith  of  Mahomet, 
but  they  had  been  subdued  by  its  primitive  tenets 

98 


THE   MOSLEMS   IN  SPAIN 

and  the  savage  enthusiasm  of  Its  early  followers. 
With  the  growth  of  scholarship  and  tolerance 
among  the  Arabian  aristocracy,  the  fervid  Berbers 
became  more  and  more  hostile.  Even  before  the 
reign  of  Abd-al-Rahman  III.,  the  over  refinement 
of  Cordova  was  regarded  with  suspicion,  and  a 
later  king,  although  himself  a  scholar  of  repute 
and  a  lover  of  books,  found  It  necessary,  in  order 
to  preserve  Berber  loyalty,  to  sacrifice  to  their 
bigoted  zeal  that  portion  of  the  great  library  of 
Al-Hakem  which  dealt  with  astrology  or  those  sci- 
ences forbidden  by  primitive  Moslem  precepts;  a 
loss  whose  magnitude  can  hardly  be  estimated. 

The  Omeyad  dynasty  must  have  fallen  through 
its  own  degeneration  and  the  Inherent  weakness 
of  the  Moslem  system  of  government;  but  Its  fall 
was  precipitated  by  the  zealous  and  bigoted  Ber- 
bers, who,  twice  during  the  next  two  hundred 
years,  were  to  subject  the  peninsula  to  Invasions 
of  hordes  of  half-savage  Africans  led  by  Moslem 
fanatics,  who  claimed  a  special  inspiration  to 
preach  a  return  to  the  primitive  precepts  of  the 
faith. 

•  V  •  •  • 

The  Third  Period,  that  of  The  African  Kings, 
begins  with  the  period  of  disintegration  which 
immediately  followed  the  overthrow  of  Cordovan 
supremacy,  when  the  Moslem  empire  began  to 
break  up  into  a  number  of  petty  states  ruled  by 

99 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

local  governors  or  princes.  For  a  time,  a  dozen 
or  more  cities  strove  for  the  supremacy.  Once 
or  twice  Cordova  again  enjoyed  brief  periods  of 
power,  but  Seville  gradually  gained  the  ascend- 
ency. By  about  1075,  a  king  of  Seville,  Mo- 
tamid,  became  the  most  powerful  and  almost  the 
only  remaining  independent  sovereign  in  southern 
Spain. 

But  although,  for  a  time,  Motamid  was  able 
to  command  an  unwilling  allegiance  from  the 
majority  of  the  Moslem  princes,  he  was  no 
■'J  match    for    the    Christian    kings    with    whom    he 

had  to  cope.  Furthermore,  Immersed  In  his  own 
affairs,  and  secretly  disdaining  his  northern  enemy, 
Motamid  gave  no  heed  to  the  danger  until  Toledo 
was  taken  by  Alfonso  VI.,  of  Leon  and  Castile. 

Then  an  Immediate  and  bitter  outcry  rose  from 
all  Moslem  Spain,  and  Motamid,  when  too  late, 
came  to  a  realizing  sense  of  the  common  peril. 
As  might  have  been  foreseen,  the  conquest  of  To- 
ledo was  far  from  satisfying  the  Christians.  Not 
only  were  the  near-by  cities  of  Madrid  and  Gua- 
dalajara speedily  subdued,  but  Saragossa,  Badajoz, 
and,  it  is  hinted,  Seville  itself,  were  soon  terrified 
into  paying  tribute  to  Christian  kings. 

Representatives  from  all  the  chief  cities  of 
Moslem  Spain  were  at  once  called  together  to 
consult  as  to  measures  for  the  common  good. 
The  result  was  an  appeal  for  aid  sent  across  the 

100 


THE   MOSLEMS   IN  SPAIN 

straits  to  a  new  military  leader  just  arisen  In 
Africa,  Yussef  ben  Tashfin,  whose  followers  were 
known  as  the  Almoravldes. 

Yussef  ben  Tashfin  first  crossed  the  straits  in 
1086,  and,  although  the  conquest  of  the  peninsula 
for  himself  may  have  been  his  purpose  from  the 
outset,  It  was  soon  demonstrated  that  any  other 
course  was  Impossible.  The  Spanish  Moslems  were 
not  only  thoroughly  disunited,  but  hopelessly  un- 
reliable. In  1090,  therefore,  a  fresh  Invasion  of 
fanatical  Almoravldes  poured  across  the  straits, 
and  this  time  they  came  to  make  a  clean  sweep 
of  the  petty  kings  whose  jealousies  were  fast 
undermining  the  Moslem  power  in  the  penin- 
sula. 

Beginning  with  Granada,  city  after  city  fell  or 
was  delivered  Into  the  hands  of  the  African 
hordes,  and  when  too  late  the  fatuous  Motamid 
realized  the  danger  of  dependence  upon  a 
stronger  power.  Later,  after  four  years  of  con- 
tact with  the  rude  African  zealots,  an  alliance 
with  or  even  submission  to  the  Christian  kings 
seemed  a  much  less  despised  alternative.  In  des- 
peration, and  to  promote  that  alliance,  a  daughter 
of  Motamid  was  offered  In  marriage  to  the  King 
of  Castile.  The  latter  then  sent  twenty  thousand 
men  Into  the  south  to  assist  In  expelling  what  was 
now  recognized,  by  both  Christians  and  Moslems, 
as  a  common  foe.     But  the  co-operation  came  too 

lOI 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

late.  In  1094,  Seville  capitulated  to  Tashfin's 
army,  and  from  that  date  was  begun  the  rule  of 
the  Almoravides  in  Spain. 

The  rule  of  these  first  African  kings  endured 
only  fifty  years,  and  its  history  is  paralleled  by 
that  of  the  Almohades  who  succeeded  them.  Both 
the  Almoravides  and  Almohades  were  sects  of 
fanatical  Berbers  who  rose  to  power  through  the 
preaching  of  holy  wars.  Each  began  with  an 
effort  to  return  to  the  purity  of  the  early  faith 
of  Islam,  which  Included  as  well  a  return  to  rather 
barbarous  habits  of  living.  After  their  occupation 
of  Spain,  both,  for  a  time,  attempted  to  profit  by 
the  high  degree  of  civilization  they  found,  and  in 
each  case  a  brief  period  of  prosperity  and  produc- 
tiveness  followed  their  conquest. 

But  pitted  against  the  bigotry  and  barbarism 
of  the  mass  of  their  followers,  and  the  constantly 
outcropping  discontent  of  the  Spanish  Moslems  and 
Christians,  the  real  ability  of  a  few  kings  could 
produce  no  lasting  influence.  Fresh  Invasions  from 
Africa  were  again  and  again  summoned  to  the 
support  of  their  quickly  waning  powers,  and  to  as- 
sist In  repelling  the  Christian  armies  which  omitted 
no  opportunity  to   press   into  the  south. 

Notable  Moslem  victories  crowned  many  con- 
tests, but  no  one  of  them  opposed  a  lasting  resist- 
ance to  the  Christian  advance.  Finally  in  121 1,  a 
stupendous  force  was  landed,  which  was  expected 

102 


THE  MOSLEMS  IN  SPAIN 

to  win  back  the  entire  peninsula  to  Moslem  rule. 
But  owing  to  the  blunders  of  Moslem  leaders, 
and  disorganization  and  discontent  within  its  own 
ranks,  this  army  was  practically  annihilated  on 
the  field  of  Navas  de  Tolosa.  This  overwhelming 
defeat  forever  broke  the  preponderance  of  Mos- 
lem power  in  Spain.  Cordova  and  Seville  were 
loosely  held  for  another  forty  years,  but  after 
their  loss  in  1235  and  1248,  Moslem  power  was 
practically  confined  to  the  small  Kingdom  of 
Granada. 

•  •  •  •  • 

The  Fourth  Period,  that  of  the  Kingdom  of 
Granada,  vies  in  some  respects  with  the  brilliancy 
of  that  of  the  Kingdom  of  Cordova.  After 
the  Christian  subjugation  of  Seville  the  tide  of 
reconquest  was  stayed  for  two  hundred  and  fifty 
years,  and  during  that  period  the  eastern  half  of 
the  southern  coast,  united  more  or  less  loosely  un- 
der the  supremacy  of  Granada,  became  the  refuge 
of  the  most  valuable  remaining  Moslem  popula- 
tion of  Spain. 

The  rich  and  lovely  vega  of  Granada  has  long 
been  recognized  as  the  heart  of  the  eastern  half 
of  southern  Spain:  dominated  by  the  foothills  of 
the  Sierra  Nevada,  it  has  always  been  the  natural 
centre  of  power  for  all  that  region.  Its  value 
and  importance  were  recognized  by  both  Carthage 
and    Rome;    and    in    the    general    distribution    of 

103 


BUILDERS  OF   SPAIN 

lands  at  the  Moslem  conquest,  the  powerful  Syrian 
Arabs  at  once  seized  upon  it,  not  only  as  the 
garden  of  the  peninsula,  but  as  a  region  where 
well  nigh   independent   sovereignty  was  possible. 

In  the  course  of  time,  through  the  feudal  wars 
which  finally  rendered  many  tribes  extinct,  the 
ownership  of  the  territory,  which  came  to  be 
known  as  the  province  of  Granada,  was  vested  in 
a  few  powerful  families.  The  authority  of  an 
emir  sent  from  Cordova  was  usually  recognized, 
but,  surrounded  by  her  wall  of  mountains,  the 
province  of  Granada  was  less  vitally  affected  than 
any  other  Moslem  province  by  the  revolutions 
which  again  and  again  threatened  the  power  of 
the  Spanish  caliphs. 

It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that  the  choice  of 
Granada  as  the  region  which  was  to  serve  as  the 
last  desperate  effort  to  maintain  a  Moslem  state 
in  Spain  was  not  only  eminently  wise,  but  possibly 
the  only  one  which  could  have  held  the  Christian 
armies  at  bay  for  any  length  of  time.  The  rise 
of  this  new  kingdom  upon  the  foundation  of  the 
earlier  semi-independent  Arabian  province,  oc- 
curred within  a  year  of  the  capitulation  of*  Cor- 
dova. At  this  date  the  virility  of  the  early  Arab 
stock,  even  In  the  province  of  Granada,  was  sensi- 
bly weakened,  and  when  the  African  prince,  Ma- 
homet-al-Hamar,  after  having  made  himself 
master  of  Arjona,   Jaen,   Gaudix,  Baeza,   and  Al- 

104 


THE  MOSLEMS  IN  SPAIN 

meria,  demanded  also  the  submission  of  Granada, 
he  met  with  little  opposition. 

The  subjugation  of  many  of  the  neighbouring 
Moslem  cities  speedily  followed,  and  within  a  few 
years  the  new  king  of  Granada  practically  con- 
trolled a  stretch  of  territory  comprising  the  eastern 
half  of  the  southern  coast  of  Spain  with  Its  im- 
portant ports  of  AlmerIa  and  Gibraltar,  and  ex- 
tending north  to  Jaen  and  Huesca.  The  kingdom 
was  by  far  the  richest  domain  of  like  extent  In 
the  peninsula.  Its  mountains  were  filled  with 
valuable  minerals,  and  Its  valleys  are  still  so  fer- 
tile as  to  produce  several  crops  a  year  with  little 
or  no  cultivation.  This  boundless  fertility,  coupled 
with  natural  defences  of  mountains  and  strong 
frontier  cities,  rendered  Granada  the  natural  ref- 
uge, as  it  became  for  years,  of  a  desperate  peo- 
ple. Fourteen  large  and  more  than  a  hundred 
small  cities  were  Included  within  its  domain,  and 
to  their  population  were  constantly  added  rapidly 
increasing  numbers  of  thrifty  and  industrious  Mos- 
lem exiles,  who,  as  their  homes  elsewhere  In  the 
peninsula  fell  into  Christian  hands,  flocked  thither 
for  the  companionship  of  their  brethren  and  the 
protection  of  a  Moslem  king. 

From  Its  foundation  the  new  kingdom  of  Gra- 
nada occupied  a  position  of  Importance  In  the  af- 
fairs of  Spain.  It  was  a  power  to  be  reckoned 
with;    and   the    fact   that   It   maintained   Its    exist- 

105 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

ence  in  the  face  of  the  overwhelming  numbers  of 
Christian  foes  for  two  hundred  and  fifty  years, 
and  that  its  final  subjugation  required  the  united 
forces  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  is  sufficient  evi- 
dence of  its  vitality,  even  during  the  later  years  of 
its  degeneration  and  decline.  The  entire  history 
of  Granada  is  a  record  of  this  conquest,  for 
scarcely  had  Mahomet  chosen  his  capital  than  he 
was  called  upon  to  defend  his  borders,  and  the 
annals  of  few  states  present  a  more  continuous 
warfare  or  a  more  romantic  and  picturesque  in- 
terest. 

Even  divested  of  the  glamour  cast  over  it  by  thd 
magic  of  Irving's  pen,  the  story  of  the  conquest 
of  Granada  has  the  fantastic  atmosphere  of  the 
tales  of  the  Arabian  Nights.  It  was  a  life  or 
death  struggle,  and  again  and  again  the  fruitful 
plain  of  Granada  was  given  over  to  the  horrors 
of  fire  and  sword  and  stripped  of  every  living 
thing.  But  accounts  of  siege  and  battle  are  al- 
ternated with  stories  of  courtly  pageantry  and  the 
interchange  of  chivalric  courtesies,  which,  together 
with  stilted  heroics  and  absurd  complications,  must 
provoke  a  frequent  smile  even  with  the  sense  of 
keen  sympathy  for  a  hapless  people.  It  must  be 
admitted  that  it  is  exceedingly  difficult  to  trace  to 
a  reliable  source  many  of  the  most  commonly  ac- 
cepted of  these  tales.  Contemporary  historians  of 
this  period,  both  Spanish  and  Arabian,   are  more 

io6 


THE   MOSLEMS  IN  SPAIN 

« 

unreliable,  If  that  were  possible,  than  those  of 
earlier  times,  and  later  authorities  differ  very 
widely  as  to  what  or  how  much  may  be  accepted. 
Dates  and  events  are  confused  and  names  Inter- 
changed to  such  an  extent  that  the  reader  Is  fre- 
quently tempted  to  regard  all  as  fictitious.  It  Is 
safe  to  assume,  however,  that  the  more  Important 
names  and  the  general  trend  of  events  have  a 
foundation  of  fact;  and  for  the  rest,  even  the  con- 
fessed semi-fiction  of  Irving  undoubtedly  repro- 
duces much  of  the  spirit  of  the  place  and  period. 
Moreover,  In  many  cases  the  tales  which  he  has 
rendered  Into  such  delightful  English  have  become 
so  thoroughly  Ingrained  Into  the  memories  of  the 
time  that  they  must  be  recognized  to-day  as  a 
part,  and  often  an  Important  part,  of  the  Interest 
which  attaches  to  a  study  of  the  kingdom  of 
Granada. 

•  •  •  •  • 

Beginning  with  the  mosque  at  Cordova, — the 
first  important  effort  of  the  Moslems  In  the  pen- 
insula,— Saracenic  architecture  In  Spain,  and  Sara- 
cenic civilization  as  well,  may  be  divided  into  the 
same  broad  periods  which  distinguish  Its  political 
history. 

Nowhere  did  the  Arabs  find  so  little  construc- 
tive skill  as  among  the  native  Spaniards,  and  dur- 
ing the  supremacy  of  Cordova  the  strongest  Influ- 
ence  was   that   of   the   civilization    of   Byzantium. 

107 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

During  this  entire  period  the  power  of  the  Syrian 
Arabs  predominated,  and  friendly  alliances  with 
Constantinople  permitted  the  frequent  Importation 
of  Byzantine  workmen  Into  Spain.  It  follows, 
therefore,  that  the  effort  of  the  period.  In  all 
essentials,  Is  like  that  of  the  East,  but  simplified 
and  modified  by  local  influences. 

Stone,  even  when  convenient  to  hand,  was  sel- 
dom employed,  and,  after  a  few  early  and  simple 
efforts,  domes,  except  those  of  timber  and  stucco, 
were  rarely  attempted.  It  at  once  becomes  ap- 
parent, then,  that  little  of  structural  dignity  Is  to 
be  expected,  and  that  the  beauty  or  value  of  Mos- 
lem architecture  In  Spain  Is  largely  limited  to 
those  matters  of  ornamental  detail  to  which  By- 
zantine labours  were  mostly  confined. 

Among  structural  features,  the  horseshoe  arch 
became  especially  popular  In  Spain,  and  later  was 
combined  with  all  kinds  of  round,  pointed,  and 
composite  arches.  Another  marked  characteristic 
was  the  division  of  windows,  by  slender  columns 
with  arches,  Into  two  or  three  openings,  which 
were  surrounded  by  an  enclosing  arch,  and  known 
as  ajimiez  windows.  These,  with  the  profuse 
and  deep  cusping  of  arches,  were  nowhere  more 
freely  used  than  In  Spain. 

During  the  period  of  the  African  kings,  the 
Influence  of  Byzantium  gave  place  in  a  great 
measure    to    that    of    Mauritania.       Although    be- 

io8 


THE   MOSLEMS   IN  SPAIN 

fore  this  date  the  Spanish  Moslems  had  bor- 
rowed certain  Industrial  methods  from  their  breth- 
ren In  Africa,  they  themselves  had  taken  the 
lead  In  art  and  architecture.  Even  during  the  su- 
premacy of  the  Almoravldan  and  Almohadan 
kings,  It  was  the  peninsula,  already  far  In  advance 
in  most  departments  of  civilization,  which 
supplied  the  Impetus  which  produced  a  striking 
and  quick  development  In  many  African  centres. 
But,  while  Spain  gave  perhaps  more  than  she  re- 
ceived, the  native  methods  of  the  Berbers  pro- 
duced a  very  strong  influence  upon  this  and  the 
succeeding  period  of  Saracenic  architecture  In  the 
peninsula. 

Owing  to  their  lack  of  stone,  the  Berbers  had 
built  their  walls  of  brick  or  mud,  and  a  rapid  In- 
crease In  the  use  of  these  materials  quickly  fol- 
lowed the  ascendency  of  the  African  kings  In 
Spain.  The  weathered  battlements,^  always  a  ne- 
cessity for  the  protection  of  mud  walls  from 
quick  destruction  by  water,  and  still  a  striking 
feature  of  Berber  frontier  strongholds  on  the  bor- 
ders of  the  great  desert,  soon  supplanted  in  the 
peninsula  the  earlier  stepped^  or  flame  battlements 
of  the  East;  and  to  Berber  initiative  and  Berber 


1 A  weathered  battlement  is  surmounted  by  a  pyramidal  roof 
which  protects,   or  weathers   it. 

2  Stepped  battlements,  and  in  fact  most  stepped  construction, 
were  originated  in  Persia. 

109 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

influence  was  undoubtedly  due  the  rapid  develop- 
ment of  profuse  and  elaborate  stucco  ornamenta- 
tion. 

The  most  beautiful  result  of  the  African  influ- 
ence was  the  ornamental  brickwork  which  quickly 
became  a  pronounced  feature  of  Saracenic  archi- 
tecture in  Spain.  Warm  in  colour,  rich  in  texture, 
and  clear  cut  in  outline,  these  moulded  bricks 
were  chiefly  used  to  outline  small  arcades  of 
arches;  but  they  were  also  arranged  in  patterns  on 
walls  or  in  pavements,  where  they  produced  the 
most  charming  effects.  The  most  beautiful  exam- 
ple left  to  us,  which  is  also  the  chief  monument 
remaining  of  this  period,  Is  the  minaret,  now 
called  the  Giralda,  at  Seville.  A  number  of  sim- 
ilar towers  produced  during  this  period  are  still 
to  be  found  In  North  Africa,  which,  as  works  of 
architecture  betraying  any  degree  of  constructive 
skill,  must  rank  In  advance  of  any  Saracenic  mon- 
uments left  In  that  entire  region.  Of  the  further 
effort  of  this  period,  comparatively  little  has  been 
left,  but  the  tendency  was  toward  more  pretentious 
effects,  with  a  more  barbaric  display  of  florid  or- 
nament and  colour. 

The  last  period  of  Saracenic  architecture  in 
Spain  is  best  exemplified  to-day  by  the  famous 
palace  of  the  Alhambra  at  Granada.  But,  al- 
though what  is  left  of  that  abode  of  enchantment 
may   still   be    considered   one   of   the   most   exqui- 

izo 


Palacio  Pedro  el  Cruel,  Toledo. 


THE   MOSLEMS  IN  SPAIN 

site  works  of  decorative  skill  extant,  it  is  also 
quite  just  to  question  Its  right  to  any  rank  what- 
ever among  architectural  monuments.  Only  the 
most  primitive  of  constructive  principles  were  em- 
ployed In  the  erection  of  Its  concrete  walls,  and 
Its  sole  value  as  a  work  of  art  lies  in  the  elab- 
oration of  ornament  which  Is  spread  over  them, 
and  In  the  adroitness  of  arrangement  by  which 
windows  and  doorways  were  everywhere  made  to 
command  the  most  beautiful  vistas. 

Encaustic  tiles,  which  under  the  African  kings 
had  largely  superseded  mosaic  as  a  means  of  re- 
vetment, reached  their  greatest  beauty  and  perfec- 
tion during  this  period.  Like  stucco,  their  pro- 
duction and  application  were  cheap  and  expedi- 
tious. The  result  was  an  endless  profusion  of 
ornament,  whose  patterns  furnish  to-day  an  Inex- 
haustible fund  for  the  student  of  decorative  de- 
sign. As  the  production  of  the  colour  and  lustre 
of  the  best  of  these  tiles  Is  now  a  lost  art,  many 
of  them  to-day  are  worth  their  weight  in  gold; 
but  the  fact  remains  that  In  their  own  day  they 
were  a  cheaper  substitute  for  the  more  expensive 
and  richer  effects  of  the  Byzantine  glass  and  min- 
eral mosaics. 

In  the  Industrial  Arts,  the  Moslems  in  Spain 
stand  absolutely  unrivalled  in  the  history  of  the 
peninsula.  Following  their  conquests  In  the  far 
East,  they    were    able    to    introduce    into    Spain    a 

III 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

knowledge  of  oriental  civilization,  which,  coupled 
with  the  natural  resources  of  the  peninsula,  and 
their  own  activity,  resulted  in  a  marvellous  de- 
velopment and  productiveness.  In  a  brief  outline 
the  manufacture  of  textiles  should  stand  first.  The 
most  valuable  fabric  was  silk,  whose  output  was 
enormous,  and  of  such  delicate  texture  and  ex- 
quisite colours  that  Spain  became,  during  the  entire 
Moslem  period,  Its  chief  source  of  supply  In 
Europe. 

In  the  manufacture  of  pottery,  likewise,  Mos- 
lem Spain  attained  pre-eminence  in  Europe.  In 
their  earliest  work  the  Arabs  undoubtedly  bor- 
rowed many  of  their  methods  from  the  Persians. 
A  number  of  early  specimens  found  In  the  penin- 
sula present  a  Persian  character,  and  a  few  are 
most  probably  of  Persian  origin.  The  metallic 
lustre  which  later  became  famous  was  likewise 
undoubtedly  originated  in  the  East.  Fragments  of 
metallic  lustre  pottery  were  found  by  Layard  in 
Ephesus   and   Asia    Minor. 

The  art  of  making  glazed  potteries,  as  devel- 
oped among  the  Arabs,  was  more  largely  devoted 
to  the  production  of  tiles  for  the  revetment  of 
walls  than  for  any  other  one  thing,  but  the  man- 
ufacture of  vessels  and  ornaments  was  likewise 
enormous.  Examples,  both  of  tiles  and  vessels, 
now  to  be  seen  In  most  European  museums  of 
Ceramics,    attest   the    wide    variety    and    striking 

112 


THE   MOSLEMS  IN  SPAIN 

beauty  attained.  Among  the  caprices  of  the  art, 
a  kind  of  red  pottery  Is  mentioned  which  was 
edible.  It  was  delicate  and  scented,  and,  after 
drinking  or  eating  what  the  vessels  contained,  they 
themselves  were  made  to  serve  as  the  final  deli- 
cacy. 

Arabian  armour,  which  Is  justly  celebrated  for 
the  beauty  and  delicacy  of  its  workmanship,  was 
probably  an  imitation  of  Persian  models.  Cer- 
tain portions  of  the  surface  were  covered  with 
silver  or  other  precious  metals,  which  were  dec- 
orated with  outlined  or  embossed  patterns  similar 
to  those  found  in  Persian  or  Arabian  carpets;  and 
they  were  often  further  enriched  with  a  setting 
of  precious  stones.  The  Spanish  Arabs  early  be- 
came expert  in  handling  bronze  and  iron.  Owing 
to  its  value  for  other  purposes,  and  the  ease  with 
which  it  could  be  melted  down,  little  of  their 
bronze  work  is  left  to  us;  but  there  are  a  few 
doors,  lamps,  keys,  and  other  small  articles  which 
still    attest    their    artistry. 

Iron  was  freely  used,  and  skilfully  wrought 
into  nail  heads,  screens,  and  ornamental  hinges. 
The  carving  of  Ivory,  an  art  originated  in  the 
East,  was  carried  to  great  perfection  among  the 
Arabs  in  Spain;  and  many  exquisite  ornaments 
and  caskets,  now  preserved  in  Spanish  churches 
and  monasteries,  betray  at  a  glance  their  Moslem 
origin.     The    peculiar    method    employed    in    the 

113 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

manufacture  of  leather  for  which  Cordova  be- 
came famous,  was  borrowed  from  Africa.  The 
word,  guadamecil,  early  applied  to  this  leather, 
IS  derived  from  Ghadames,  the  place  of  its  origin. 
Goat  skins  were  used  and,  when  properly  cured 
and  coloured,  were  stamped  with  designs  largely, 
if  not  entirely,  in  gilt.  From  Its  immense  produc- 
tion in  Cordova  this  leather  has  long  been  known 
as  Cordovan  leather. 

To  Moslem  achievements  in  the  fine  and  Indus- 
trial arts  must  be  added  their  attainments  In  sci- 
ence, philosophy,  literature,  and  mechanics,  all  of 
which  indicate  a  prodigious  activity,  and.  In  cer- 
tain directions,  a  consummate  ability  as  well.  Of 
their  success  In  the  field  of  mechanics,  records 
have  been  preserved  of  the  most  curious  and  In- 
genious clocks,  hydraulic  machines,  and  other  in- 
ventions; and  In  the  domains  of  philosophy  and 
science,  the  Moslems  In  Spain  anticipated  In  many 
directions  the  conclusions  reached  by  modern 
thought. 

In  Spain,  as  in  the  East,  one  of  the  most  In- 
teresting questions  In  connection  with  the  produc- 
tion of  Saracenic  civIUzatlon,  Is  the  part  played 
by  the  Arabs  themselves;  and  here  also  we  find 
the  primary  role  was  that  of  patrons,  but  of 
patrons  who  fostered  the  development  of  the  arts 
which  they  adopted.  Finding  nothing  which  ap- 
pealed  to  them    In   the    rude   remains    of   the   de- 

114 


THE   MOSLEMS   IN  SPAIN 

cayed  VIsIgothIc  civilization,  the  art  of  the  Mos- 
lem conquerors  In  Spain  was  purely  exotic.  It  Is 
Improbable  that  craftsmen  possessing  any  degree  of 
skill  in  any  of  the  fine  or  industrial  arts  remained 
among  the  native  Spaniards  at  the  close  of  the 
VIsIgothIc  period,  but,  whatever  the  conditions, 
new  methods  and  a  vitally  contrasting  Inspiration 
immediately  superseded  those  to  which  the  penin- 
sula had  long  been  accustomed. 

The  training  of  these  native  workmen,  there- 
fore, and  with  them,  of  the  even  more  Ignorant 
Berbers  and  other  African  peoples,  not  only  In 
craftsmanship,  but  In  habits  of  thrift  and  Indus- 
try, was  the  great  work  of  the  Arabs  In  Spain. 
Great  schools  were  quickly  set  up,  and,  even  dur- 
ing the  first  century  of  Moslem  rule,  amazing 
progress  Is  recorded. 

The  place  In  this  development  occupied  by  the 
Jews  Is  second  only  to  that  of  the  Arabs.  It  is 
scarcely  necessary  to  say  that  the  Jews  controlled 
the  commerce  of  mediaeval  Europe.  But  their 
Intellectual  achievements  are  possibly  not  so 
well  known,  and  the  latter  were  largely  accom- 
plished under  Moslem  patronage.  By  many,  the 
Jews  and  Arabs  are  thought  to  have  sprung  from 
the  same  branch  of  the  human  family,  but  what- 
ever their  racial  origin,  similarities  of  character, 
tradition,  and  culture,  have  always  tended  to  draw 
the  two  peoples  together.     It  Is  a  matter  of  hls- 

115 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

tory  that  the  down-trodden  Hebrews  have  always 
been  better  treated  by  the  Moslems  than  by  any 
other  people. 

Large  numbers  of  Jews  were  found  In  all  the 
Mediterranean  countries,  and  the  Arabs  were  ever 
quick  to  employ  Jewish  Intelligence.  Indeed,  the 
first  book  In  Arabic  was  written  by  a  Jew.  As  a 
result  of  these  friendly  relations,  fifty  thousand 
Jewish  families  are  said  to  have  followed  the 
Moslem  conquerors  Into  Spain.  In  all  probabil- 
ity, many  of  them  had  earlier  been  exiled  from  It 
by  VIsIgothIc  persecution;  but  It  was  during  the 
Moslem  period  that  the  race  made  Its  most  mar- 
vellous progress.  All  pursuits  were  open  to  them, 
and  many  Jews  attained  wealth  and  position  equal 
to  those  of  their  Arab  masters. 

It  was  during  the  tenth  century  and  In  Spain 
that  the  Jews  attained  the  culmination  of  their 
power  and  influence  in  Europe.  Up  to  that 
period,  so  highly  were  they  esteemed  that,  not 
only  was  Intermarriage  freely  indulged  in  between 
Moslems  and  Jews,  but  Jewish  women  were  fre- 
quently espoused  by  Christian  nobles.^  Indeed, 
so  many  noble  Spanish  families  were  known  to 
have  strains  of  Jewish  blood,  that  it  was  found 
necessary,    during    the    sixteenth    and    seventeenth 

3  It  "will  be  remembered  that  the  Spanish  nobility  were  largely 
of  alien  stock,  and  racially  far  more  mixed  than  the  mass  of  the 
population. 

ii6 


THE   MOSLEMS   IN  SPAIN 

centuries,  to  assemble  councils  whose  chief  busi- 
ness was  to  declare  that  such  strains  were  no 
blemish.  Because  of  their  great  financial  ability, 
the  Jews  under  Moslem  rule  were  frequently  en- 
trusted with  the  highest  offices  of  the  state.  But 
their  chief  renown  should  be  found  In  the  long 
list  of  Jewish  scholars  and  scientists,  and  In  the 
additional  impetus  which  their  culture  gave  to  the 
development  of  Saracenic  civilization  In   Spain. 


117 


Chapter  V 
THE  CHRISTIAN  KINGS 

PELAYO— HENRY  IV. 

THE  Story  of  the  foundation  of  the  King- 
dom of  the  Asturias  by  the  VIsigothIc 
prince,  Pelayo,  of  the  royal  house  of 
Chlndaswind  (?),  Is  partly  legendary.  But  it  is 
generally  accepted  that,  within  a  few  years  of 
the  Moslem  conquest,  Pelayo  was  able  to  rally 
a  small  band  of  followers  and  make  a  stand  for 
independent  sovereignty  not  far  from  the  Bay  of 
Biscay  In  what  Is  now  the  province  of  Oviedo. 
The  date  given  is  718,  and  the  Asturias  were  but 
the  first  of  a  number  of  petty  principalities  which 
soon    sprang   up    along   the    northern    frontier. 

These  little  kingdoms  were  mostly  ruled  by 
Gothic  nobles  whose  feuds  kept  them  for  many 
years  more  commonly  at  war  with  each  other  than 
with  their  common  foes,  the  Moslems  In  the 
south.  Conquest  or  marriage  occasionally  united 
two  or  more  of  these  petty  states,  but  the  sense- 
less policy,  Indulged  in  by  many  of  these  kings,  of 
partitioning  an  inheritance  among  a  number  of 
children,  constantly  effected  new  divisions  and  cre- 
ated   fresh    complications.       Furthermore,    in    the 

118 


PELAYO— HENRY   IV. 

course  of  time,  Intermarriages  produced  the  most 
astonishing  Intermixture  of  relationships;  while,  to 
the  average  reader,  a  crowning  perplexity  is  found 
In  the  Immensb  popularity  of  the  names  Alfonso, 
Fernando,  and  Sancho.  During  several  different 
periods,  Alfonsos,  Sanchos,  or  Fernandos,  to  the 
number  of  two,  or  even  three,  are  found  occu- 
pying as  many  different  thrones  at  the  same  time, 
and  it  is  a  constant  effort  to  distinguish  one  from 
the  other. 

Light  begins  to  gather  In  the  eleventh  century 
when  Fernando  I.,  of  Castile,  by  means  of  mar- 
riage, Intrigue,  and  conquest,  succeeded  in  uniting 
to  his  kingdom,  the  Asturlas,  Leon,  and  Gallcia. 
Why,  after  accomplishing  so  much,  he  should 
have  undone  it  all  at  his  death,  is  one  of  those 
singular  facts  of  which  history  Is  prolific.  Of 
Fernando's  three  sons,  Sancho  inherited  Castile; 
Alfonso,  Leon ;  Garcia,  the  Asturlas  and  Gallcia ;  and 
his  two  daughters,  Elvira  and  Urraca,  were  given 
respectively  the  cities  of  Toro  and  Zamora.  The 
usual  consequences  of  such  testamentary  blunders—^ 
family  Intrigues  and  civil  wars — at  once  resulted; 
and  during  the  struggle  which  followed,  that  fa- 
mous hero  of  mediaeval  romance,  Rodrigo  del 
Blvar,  better  known  as  the  Cid,'  first  made  his 
appearance  in   history. 

1  From    the    Arabic,    Said — Lord.    Also    known    by    his    Spanish 
title,  El  Campeador— The  Challenger. 

119 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

At  first  the  CId  fought  with  Sancho,  and 
Sancho's  early  victories  quickly  wrested  from  his 
brothers  their  petty  sovereignties.  Alfonso  was 
captured  and  imprisoned  near  Burgos,  but  later 
escaped  and  fled  to  Toledo,  where  he  was  given 
refuge  by  the  Moslem  king,  Al-Mamun;  while 
Garcia  succeeded  in  reaching  Seville.  The  con- 
quest of  the  Inheritance  of  his  two  sisters  was  next 
attempted  by  Sancho,  and  Toro  was  soon  taken,  but 
at  the  siege  of  Zamora  his  murder  was  accom- 
plished, probably  by  the  agents  of  some  of  his 
outraged  family.  At  Sancho's  death  (1072), 
Alfonso  at  once  seized  upon  the  thrones  of  Castile 
and  Leon,  adopting  the  title  of  Alfonso  VI.,  of 
Castile  and  Leon. 

A  little  later  Garcia  returned  to  claim  his 
patrimony,  but  Alfonso  had  already  annexed 
Galicia  and  the  Asturias  to  his  own  kingdom,  and 
Garcia  vanished  from  history  Into  a  prison.  Al- 
fonso VI.,  therefore,  once  more  united  the  Chris- 
tian kingdoms  first  brought  together  by  his  father; 
but  the  young  king  did  not  stop  there.  In  1085, 
he  effected  the  conquest  of  Toledo,  the  first  Im- 
portant step  in  the  Christian  reconquest  of  Spain. 
The  ancient  Gothic  capital  at  once  became  the 
chief  city  and  capital  of  the  united  kingdom  of 
Castile  and  Leon,  whose  history  thenceforward 
forms  a  fairly  clear  record  of  growth  in  power 
and  importance. 

I2Q 


PELAYO— HENRY  IV. 

During  the  four  hundred  years  lying  between 
Alfonso  VI.  and  the  close  of  the  reign  of  Henry 
IV.,  a  few  names  stand  out  as  of  especial  im- 
portance. Among  the  first  is  Alfonso  IX.  (1187- 
12 14),  under  whom  was  won  the  famous  battle, 
already  mentioned,  of  Navas  de  Tolosa.  The 
Moslem  army  defeated  in  that  engagement  was 
the  most  overwhelming  ever  sent  into  the  field  in 
Spain :  that  much  we  need  not  doubt,  although 
some  of  the  figures  are  palpably  exaggerated.  It 
is  said  that  a  year  was  occupied  in  assembling  the 
African  contingent,  and  that  four  months  were  re- 
quired to  transport  it  across  the  straits,  both  of 
which  statements  appear  very  probable.  But  we 
hesitate  when  we  are  told  that  one  of  the  five 
divisions  alone  numbered  one  hundred  and  sixty 
thousand  men. 

But  whatever  the  numbers,  they  were  quite  suf- 
ficient to  alarm  all  Europe.  Innocent  III.  pro- 
claimed a  crusade,  and  the  doughty  prelate  of 
Toledo,  Rodrigo  de  Rada,  journeyed  to  distant 
courts  to  arouse  their  rulers  and  ask  for  aid  in 
the  common  cause.  Men  and  money  were  sent 
from  France  and  elsewhere,  and  the  force  thus 
prepared  was  the  most  formidable  ever  got  to- 
gether by  the  Spanish  Christians.  But,  even  so, 
it  was  fortunate  for  them  that,  before  the  op- 
posing armies  came  to  battle,  the  Moslem  enemy 
was     shorn     of     its     preponderance     of     strength 

121 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

through  divisions  in  Its  ranks  and  the  Incompe- 
tence of  Its  leaders. 

Finding  the  strong  but  utterly  unimportant  for- 
tress of  Salvatierra  in  his  path  as  he  marched 
northward,  the  Moslem  king  spent  several  months 
in  Its  reduction,  after  which  waste  of  time  it  was 
found  necessary  to  postpone  a  further  advance 
until  the  following  season.  This  delay  not  only 
weakened  his  army  and  Imposed  the  prolonged 
burden  of  their  support  upon  the  discontented 
Andalusians,  but,  what  was  quite  as  important, 
gave  the  Christian  kings  the  time  they  needed  to 
perfect  their  coalition  and  prepare  more  fully  for 
the  contest. 

The  following  June,  while  the  Christian  army 
was  assembled  at  Toledo  under  the  command  of 
the  kings  and  princes  of  Leon,  Castile,  and  Ara- 
gon,  word  was  brought  that  the  enemy  lay  be- 
tween Sierra  Morena  and  Baeza.  A  forward 
movement  was  at  once  ordered.  The  early  de- 
sertion of  one  of  the  foreign  contingents,  the 
French  soldiery,  who,  as  they  advanced  south- 
ward were  disappointed  in  the  amount  of  booty 
which  fell  to  their  lot,  was  a  blow  which  might 
well  have  dampened  the  ardour  of  the  Spanish 
forces.  But  good  fortune  was  to  meet  them  as 
they  neared  the  enemy.  There,  according  to  tra- 
dition, they  encountered  a  shepherd  who  offered 
to  lead  the  Christian  army  across  the  mountains 
through    defiles    known    only    to    himself,    and    by 

122 


PELAYO— HENRY   IV. 

which  they  might  surprise  the  Moslem  host  en- 
camped on  the  other  side. 

By  the  devout  Spaniards  the  kindly  shepherd 
has  been  transformed  into  St.  Isidore;  but  his- 
torians to-day  assert  that  the  Christian  army  was 
led  across  the  northern  passes  by  a  band  of  Mos- 
lem deserters.  In  the  midst  of  the  fierce  fight 
which  followed,  we  are  told  that  the  entire  body 
of  Andalusians  withdrew  their  support  from  the 
Moslem  army,  a  move  which  strongly  indicates 
treachery.  But,  while  Moslem  treason  probably 
played  its  part  in  deciding  the  fortunes  of  the 
battle  of  Navas  de  Tolosa,  the  desperate  onset  of 
the  Christians,  whose  final  and  decisive  charge  was 
led  by  De  la  Rada,  still  forms  the  proudest  page 
in  all  the  history  of  Spain.  No  true  Spaniard 
but  glories  to-day  in  the  splendid  final  dash  of 
Toledo's  Bishop,  and  even  the  stranger  experi- 
ences a  glow  of  enthusiasm  at  sight  of  the  worn 
and  faded  banner,  now  the  chief  treasure  of  the 
convent  of  Las  Huelgas  at  Burgos,  which  was 
carried  through  the  thickest  of  the  fight  by  Al- 
fonso  VIII.   of  Castile. 

Fernando  III.  (1217-1252),  better  known  as 
St.  Ferdinand,  was  the  son  of  Alfonso  IX.  of 
Leon    and   Berenguela^   of    Castile.     For   the   last 

2  Berenguela  was  the  daughter  of  Alfonso  VIII.,  of  Castile,  whose 
queen  was  Eleanor  Plantagenet  (daughter  of  Henry  II.),  and  St. 
Ferdinand's  daughter  Eleanor,  named  after  her  English  great- 
grandmother,  went  back  to  England  as  the  chere  reine  of  Edward  I. 

123 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

time  St.  Ferdinand  united  those  oft-divided  king- 
doms; and  during  his  reign  their  territory  was  ex- 
tended far  Into  the  south.  In  1235,  his  standard 
was  set  up  In  Cordova,  and  In  1248,  It  waved 
from  the  towers  of  Seville.  With  the  exception 
of  his  persecution  of  the  Moslems,  the  reign  of 
St.  Ferdinand  was  wise  and  beneficent,  and  his 
personal  character  Is  very  attractive. 

Alfonso  X.  (125 2-1 284),  the  son  and  successor 
of  Ferdinand  III.,  was  neither  a  great  warrior  nor 
a  very  wise  ruler;  but  he  became  famous  as  a 
scholar,  and  as  a  patron  of  scholars  and  philoso- 
phers, and  Is  popularly  known  as  El  Sabio,  or  the 
wise.  The  most  Important  single  work  of  his 
reign  was  the  compilation  of  the  code  of  laws 
known  as  the  Siete  Partldas.  Even  a  bare  list  of 
other  works  In  science  and  letters  produced  under 
his  patronage  would  extend  far  beyond  our  lim- 
its here,  but  it  Is  not  too  much  to  say  that,  not 
only  was  the  foundation  laid  for  all  later  scien- 
tific and  philosophic  effort  In  Christian  Spain 
during  the  reign  of  Alfonso  X.,  but  then  also 
the  rude  Castlllan  dialect  was  first  crystallized  into 
dignified   and   sonorous   Spanish. 

With  regard  to  this  Intellectual  activity,  it 
should  be  said,  however,  that  the  scholars  who 
laboured  under  the  patronage  of  Alfonso  were 
largely  Jews  and  Arabs  who  were  found  In  the 
cities    formerly    subject    to    Moslem    rule,    or   who 

124 


PELAYO— HENRY    IV. 

were  tempted  to  the  Christian  court  by  the  en- 
lightened patronage  of  the  Christian  king;  more- 
over, the  pursuits  of  Alfonso  were  regarded  with 
more  suspicion  than  sympathy  by  the  large  ma- 
jority of  his  Christian  subjects. 

Pedro  I.,  or  Pedro  el  Cruel  (1350-1368),  Is 
chiefly  famous  for  the  perfidies  and  brutalities 
which  gave  him  his  best-known  title.  His  love 
of  intrigue  involved  him  in  constant  wars  with 
other  kings  of  Spain,  as  well  as  with  his  bastard 
brothers,  the  sons  of  his  father's  favourite,  Maria 
de  Guzman.  Pedro  was  early  married  to  Blanche 
of  Bourbon,  but  on  a  flimsy  pretext  he  Impris- 
oned her  and  finally  caused  her  to  be  poisoned. 
He  also  made  every  effort  to  secure  the  succes- 
sion for  his  son  by  his  favourite,  Maria  de  Padilla. 

Among  the  many  murders  by  which  Pedro 
cleared  his  path  of  those  who  stood  in  his  way, 
that  of  his  half-brother,  Fadrlque,  was  accom- 
plished In  the  king's  presence  and  possibly  by  his 
hand,  but  another  brother,  Henry  of  Trasta- 
mara,  succeeded  In  organizing  a  strong  party 
against  Pedro.  During  the  struggle  which  en- 
sued, Pedro  was  able  at  one  time  to  secure  the 
co-operation  of  Edward,  the  Black  Prince,  of 
England,  and  the  famous  French  freelance,  Ber- 
trand  du  Guesclln.  Both  were  finally  revolted  by 
his  duplicity  and  cruelty,  and  It  was  with  the  as- 
sistance  of   Bertrand   du   Guesclin   that   Henry   of 

125 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

Trastamara  finally  encompassed  the  defeat  and 
death  of  Pedro. 

But  with  all  his  brutalities  It  Is  but  just  to  say 
of  Pedro,  that,  while  his  private  life  was  vicious 
and  he  rarely  kept  faith  with  kings  or  nobles,  his 
government  was  far  wiser  and  more  upright  than 
those  of  the  majority  of  the  kings  of  Castile,  and 
his  career  of  duplicity  was  often  forced  upon  him. 
The  growing  arrogance  of  the  nobility  was  be- 
coming the  chief  danger  to  the  state.  Pedro  was 
forced  Into  a  constant  struggle  to  keep  them 
within  bounds;  and  It  was  the  discontented  no- 
bility which.  In  supporting  the  revolution  headed 
by  Henry  of  Trastamara,  finally  accomplished  his 
overthrow. 

Henry  II.,  Trastamara  (1368-1379),  is  claimed 
to  have  been  quite  as  vicious  as  his  brother, 
Pedro,  although  he  left  not  quite  so  black  a  rep- 
utation. His  reign,  however,  as  well  as  the  four 
which  Intervene  before  the  accession  of  Isabella  I., 
form  dark  and  disordered  pages  of  Spanish  his- 
tory. The  great  nobles  who  had  placed  Henry 
upon  the  throne  speedily  became  a  law  unto  them- 
selves, and  their  strongholds  little  better  than 
nests  of  outlaws.  Under  Pedro,  the  mass  of  the 
people  had  been  in  a  great  measure  protected 
from  the  oppression  of  the  great  lords,  but  for  a 
hundred  years  after  the  accession  of  Henry  of 
Trastamara,  their  condition  became  more  and  more 

126 


PELAYO— HENRY   IV. 

wretched.  The  fruits  of  their  labours  were  filched 
from  them  without  the  pretext  of  a  legal  tax,  and 
the  roads  were  given  up  to  highwaymen,  for 
whose  robberies  there  was  no  practical  means  of 
punishment  or  redress.  Long  before  the  acces- 
sion of  Isabella,  respect  for  law  and  order  had 
vanished  from  Castile,  and  the  kingdom  at  large 
was  plunged  Into  a  condition  of  anarchy  and 
misery. 

Juan  II.  (1406-1454),  the  third  in  succession 
from  Henry  II.,  was  an  amiable,  even  an  enlight- 
ened prince,  but  was  notoriously  weak  and  unstable. 
His  chief  title  to  fame  is  derived  from  his  having 
been  the  father  of  Isabella  I.  Juan  was  married 
twice.  His  first  Queen,  Maria  of  Aragon,  was  the 
mother  of  Henry,  who  succeeded  him  as  Henry  IV. 
His  second  Queen,  Isabella  of  Portugal,  bore  him 
two  children,  Alfonso  and  Isabella.  It  is  said  that 
the  second  marriage  was  brought  about  by  his 
prime  minister  and  favourite,  Alvaro  de  Luna,  who 
hoped  to  continue  his  ascendency  over  the  weak 
King  through  the  Influence  of  a  queen  who  owed 
her  elevation  to  him.  But  the  new  Queen  soon 
became  jealous  of  the  minister  and  finally  de- 
manded his  death.  The  doting  King  was  unable 
to  refuse  her,  and  the  powerful  Conde  de  Luna 
was  beheaded   In    1453    ^t  Valladolld. 

Henry  IV.,  El  Impotente  (1454-1478),  was  ex- 
ceedingly popular   for   a    few  years   after  his   ac- 

127 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

cession;  but  the  later  years  of  his  reign  produced 
little  but  scandal  and  turmoil  at  the  court,  and 
anarchy  and  warfare  throughout  the  kingdom. 
The  chief  source  of  dissension  was  the  disputed 
succession;  the  so-called  daughter  of  the  king, 
Juana,  being  popularly  supposed  to  be  the  daugh- 
ter of  the  queen,  Juana  of  Portugal,  by  her  fa- 
vourite, Beltran  de  la  Cueva.  The  princess  was 
commonly  called  La  Beltraneja,  and  Henry  was 
considered  to  have  disgraced  the  nation  when 
he  required  the  Cortes  to  swear  allegiance  to 
her. 

A  revolutionary  party  assembled  at  Burgos  and 
declared  In  favour  of  Alfonso,  the  young  half- 
brother  of  the  king.  After  the  sudden  death  of 
Alfonso,  probably  by  poison,  the  ccfnfederated 
nobles  turned  to  Isabella,  and  In  1468,  six  years 
before  his  death,  Henry  was  compelled  to  name 
her  as  his  successor.  In  1469,  Isabella's  mar- 
riage with  Fernando  II.,  of  Aragon,  better  known 
as  Ferdinand  V.,  of  Spain,  promised  at  her  acces- 
sion the  union  of  the  two  more  important  king- 
doms of  Christian  Spain:  Castile,  which  from 
now  on  may  be  considered  to  have  absorbed  Leon 
and  the  southwestern  Moslem  states,  and  Aragon 
which  already  claimed  the  most  of  the  eastern 
half  of  the  pensinsula. 

•  •  •  •  • 

In    the    development    of    Christian    Spain,    the 

128 


PELAYO— HENRY   IV. 

growth  of  the  kingdom  of  Aragon  had  been  sec- 
ond only  to  that  of  Castile.  Early  a  tributary 
of  Navarre,  Aragon  had  emerged  Into  Independ- 
ence toward  the  close  of  the  eleventh  century,  and 
with  the  conquest  In  1118,  of  the  Moslem  city 
of  Saragossa,  which  city  at  once  became  her  capi- 
tal, Aragon  assumed  a  position  of  Importance  in 
the  affairs  of  the  peninsula,  contributing  equally 
with  Castile  towards  Its  reconquest.  In  1137,  the 
power  of  Aragon  was  materially  augmented  by 
the  marriage  of  an  heiress  of  Aragon  with  a 
count  of  Catalonia.  Both  states  continued  to 
maintain  their  own  Institutions  and  a  degree  of 
Independence,  but  the  union  thus  begun  added 
Important  ports  and  great  wealth  to  the  resources 
of  the  kings  of  Aragon. 

During  the  following  century,  the  advance  made 
on  the  west  Into  Moslem  territory,  by  St.  Fer- 
dinand (III.)  of  Leon  and  Castile,  was  paral- 
leled on  the  east,  by  that  of  Jaime  I.  (The  Con- 
queror) of  Aragon,  (1208-1276^).  Under  the 
leadership  of  this  famous  warrior,  Valencia,  Murcia, 
and  the  Balearic  Isles  were  overrun  and  subdued, 
and  Valencia  and  the  Balearlcs  were  added  to  the 
kingdom  of  Aragon.  But  Jaime's  Ideas  of  em- 
pire were  not  confined  to  the  peninsula.  He 
aspired  to  become  a  world  power,  and  was  the 
first  of  the  Spanish  kings  to  take  an  active  part 
in  European  politics.     It  was  Jaime  who   inaugu- 

*  Gayangos.  129 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

rated  the  foreign  policy  which  resulted  later  in 
Spanish  supremacy  in  Sicily  and  Italy,  and  which 
finally  placed  Spain  among  the  great  continental 
kingdoms. 

Ferdinand  I.,  of  Aragon  (The  Good),  in  1409. 
found  himself  king  of  Aragon,  Valencia,  Majorca, 
Sicily,  and  Sardinia,  and  Count  of  Barcelona. 
Seventy  years  later,  Ferdinand  II.,  through  his 
marriage  with  Isabella  of  Castile,  formed  the 
union  of  Aragon  with  Castile  which  was  to  com- 
plete the  Christian  reconquest  of  Spain;  and  whose 
descendants  (except  for  the  little  kingdom  of 
Portugal)  were  to  unite  the  entire  peninsula 
under  one  rule. 

•  •  •  •  • 

The  development  of  the  Industrial  and  Fine 
Arts  under  the  Christian  kings  never  approached 
the  brilliancy  of  that  achieved  under  Moslem 
rule.  It  has  already  been  seen  that  the  Visi- 
goths, even  during  the  prosperous  days  of  their 
early  empire,  had  given  themselves  to  warfare,  or 
to  feasting  and  display,  rather  than  to  creative 
effort;  and  when  driven  into  the  wild  fastnesses 
of  the  Pyrenees,  they  quickly  relapsed  Jnto  a 
state  bordering  upon  barbarism.  The  culture 
found  among  the  rude  mountaineers  was  of  the 
most  primitive  kind;  and  the  barrenness  of  the 
region,  coupled  with  the  warfare  of  the  recon- 
quest,  for  many  years  precluded  among  them  the 

130 


PELAYO— HENRY   IV. 

production  of  anything  of  permanent  importance 
in    the   progress    of   Spanish    civilization. 

With  the  extension  and  development  of  Chris- 
tian power  came,  of  necessity,  a  renewed  interest 
in  industrial  and  intellectual  pursuits.  But  the 
lack  of  creative  power  inherent  in  the  Visigoths, 
coupled  with  their  disdain  for  labour,  especially 
for  labour  with  the  hands,  left  the  actual  activities 
of  the  new  civilization  almost,  if  not  altogether, 
in  the  hands  of  the  again  subjugated  Spaniards 
and  reconquered  Moslems. 

In  the  earlier  years,  the  efforts  of  these  sub- 
jugated peoples  was  largely  influenced  by  Sara- 
cenic traditions.  As  the  working  population  of 
Spain,  even  in  the  north,  had  long  laboured  under 
Moslem  leadership,  other  forms  and  methods 
were  largely  unknown  to  them.  Saracenic  Influ- 
ence has  never  been  entirely  superseded  In  the 
South,  but  In  the  North  It  gradually  gave  way 
before  the  growth  of  Christian  intolerance,  and 
finally  yielded  to  waves  of  foreign  Influence  which 
penetrated  the  peninsula  from  southern  France, 
or  which  were  Introduced  Into  Spain  by  means  of 
wars   or   alliances   with    other    European    powers. 

The  Christian  architecture  of  Spain  may  be 
broadly  divided  into  the  same  styles  found  else- 
where in  Europe  at  the  same  period — namely,  the 
Romanesque,  the  Gothic,  and  the  Renaissance. 
Owing    to    Its    marked    Byzantine    tendencies,    the 

131 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

first  period  Is  perhaps  better  entitled  the  Romano- 
Byzantine:  and  the  other  two  are  subdivided  by 
the  development  of  striking  peculiarities — the 
Gothic  Into  Gothic,  and  Plateresque  Gothic — and 
the  Renaissance  Into  Plateresque,^  Greco-Roman, 
and  Churrlgueresque*  Renaissance.  These  are 
broad  divisions  and  of  necessity  take  no  account 
of  tribal  and  geographical  Influences  which,  dur- 
ing the  Christian  period  more  than  any  other, 
produced  a  wide  diversity  In  the  results  attained. 
Among  the  earliest  efforts  of  the  Romano-By- 
zantine period,  there  are  to  be  found  to-day  In 
the  neighbourhood  of  Oviedo  a  few  primitive 
churches  and  monasteries,  erected.  It  Is  thought, 
during  the  eighth  century.  All  are  patterned  after 
the  Roman  and  Byzantine  forms  which  had  doubt- 
less served  as  models  for  earlier  Visigothic  build- 
ing, as  indeed  for  all  the  churches  of  Christen- 
dom at  that  period.  Owing  to  the  common  origin 
of  all  Christian  styles,  but  more  especially  to  con- 
tiguity and  constant  Intercommunication  during 
those  early  years  when,  politically  speaking,  there 
were  no  Pyrenees,^  the  resemblance  of  these  early 

3  Plateresque — from  Plata,  the  Spanish  for  silver,  indicating 
ornament  in  low  flat  relief  like  that  on  silver  plate. 

■*  Churrigueresque — so  called  from  the  name  of  the  man,  Chur- 
riguerra,  who  introduced  the  cheap  and  tawdry  ornamentation  of 
the   later   period. 

^  Several  of  the  petty  states  of  northern  Spain  at  times  saddled 
the  Pyrenees. 

132 


PELAYO— HENRY   IV. 

structures  to  those  of  southern  France  is  very 
strong. 

In  these  earliest  Christian  churches  of  northern 
Spain  the  usual  form  Is  that  of  the  simplest  type 
of  a  basilica :  an  oblong  enclosure,  with  a  raised 
transverse  section  at  one  end,  and  divided  length- 
wise by  rows  of  columns  into  a  nave  and  aisles. 
Roofs,  like  those  of  southern  France,  are  either 
barrel  vaulted,  or  have  flat  ceilings  supported  by 
piers.  In  a  few  Instances  the  Byzantine  cruci- 
form plan  is  found,  but  the  Byzantine  Influence 
Is  more  strongly  seen  In  matters  of  decorative  de- 
tail. In  the  field  of  decoration,  however,  rude 
and  barbarous  designs  occasionally  attest  an  effort 
after  originality,  or,  what  In  remote  localities  is 
more  probable,  to  a  lack  of  tradition  or  exotic 
influence. 

The  earliest  monument  of  importance  left  In 
any  degree  of  completeness  In  northern  Spain  Is 
the  church  of  Sta.  Maria  Naranco,  near  Oviedo, 
dating  about  the  middle  of  the  ninth  century. 
From  Its  peculiar  shape  (It  bears  little  resem- 
blance to  the  usual  baslllcan  forms)  It  is  gen- 
erally considered  to  have  been  originally  a  part 
of  a  palace.  Its  roof,  however,  is  barrel  vaulted 
with  heavy  ribs.  The  outer  wall  is  reinforced  by 
heavy  projecting  buttresses;  and  its  Inner  surface 
Is  richly  decorated  with  round  arched  arcades, 
formed  by  spirally-fluted  shafts,   crowned  by  capl- 

U3 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

tals  imitated  from  Byzantine  and  Corinthian 
forms.  The  other  details  of  this  most  curious 
and  interesting  building  are  largely  Byzantine  in 
form    and   feeling. 

Beginning  with  the  addition  of  an  apsidal  ter- 
mmation  to  the  east  end  of  the  nave,  the  devel- 
opment of  the  Christian  ecclesiastical  architecture 
of  Spain,  for  many  years,  follows  very  closely 
that  of  southern  France.  Apsidal  terminations 
were  frequently  added  to  the  ends  of  the  aisles 
as  well  as  to  the  nave,  and  even  to  the  transepts, 
but  the  long  extension  of  the  central  apse  to  form 
the  choir,  which  commonly  followed  the  develop- 
ment of  the  cruciform  ground  plan  elsewhere, 
never  became  popular  in  Spain.  The  result  was 
that  projection  of  the  choir  far  down  into  the  nave, 
which  has  become  the  most  marked  peculiarity  of 
Spanish  ecclesiastical  arrangements. 

As  the  apse  which  formed  the  head  of  the 
cross  was  rarely  long  enough  to  accommodate 
more  than  the  high  altar,  the  chorus  of  priests 
necessary  for  the  Catholic  service  were  forced  to 
take  up  their  positions  in  the  nave  beyond  the 
crossing,  a  location  which  was  at  once  surrounded 
by  a  screen.  This  screen  was  usually  a  solid 
wall  upon  three  sides  with  an  open  railing  of  iron 
or  other  metal  enclosing  the  end  facing  the  altar. 
The  altar  was  similiarly  surrounded  by  a  wall  on 
three  sides  but  open  toward  the  choir.  The  en- 
•     134 


^^m. 


Screen  of  Coro. 

Cathedral,  Toledo. 


PELAYO— HENRY   IV. 

closure  of  the  high  altar  is  usually  designated  in 
Spain  as  the  Capilla  Mayor,  and  the  choir  as  the 
Coro.  The  metal  railings  which  protect  and  yet 
leave  open  the  opposite  ends  of  the  Capilla 
Mayor  and  Coro  are  called  Rejas,  and  the  great 
carved  altar  piece,  which  from  the  eastern  wall 
of  the  capilla  mayor  looks  down  upon  both,  is 
known  as  the  Retablo, 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  above  arrangement  not 
only  blocks  up  the  nave  and  ruins  the  long  vista 
which  is  the  chief  beauty  of  most  Gothic  churches, 
but  that  it  leaves  only  the  space  at  the  crossing, 
that  between  the  open  ends  of  the  Capilla  Mayor 
and  Coro,  available  for  the  assembling  of  wor- 
shippers who  could  both  see  and  hear.  Further- 
more, when  this  space,  usually  called  the  Trascoro, 
was  filled  with  people,  the  passage  of  the  clergy 
between  the  Coro  and  Capilla  Mayor  was  often 
rendered  difficult.  As  a  result  a  narrow  passage 
leading  from  one  to  the  other  was  frequently  en- 
closed by  another  railing.  This  railing,  however, 
Is  usually  low  and  only  prevents  passing  at  this 
point,  during  service,  from  one  side  of  the  church 
to  the  other. 

In  methods  of  construction.  In  Spain  as  in 
southern  France,  the  first  vaulting  was  of  the 
round  barrel  form  (the  thrust  of  the  nave  vault 
being  counteracted  by  the  half  barrel  vaults  of 
the  aisles)  ;  and  the  division  of  the  nave  into  bays, 

135 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

by  piers  which  carried  transverse  vaulting  ribs, 
was  developed  by  successive  stages  Into  groined 
vaulting  with  diagonal  ribs,  and  finally  into  the 
pointed  Gothic  roof. 

Along  with  the  development  of  a  system  of 
vaulting,  came  the  adoption  of  a  cupola  or  dome 
at  the  Intersection  of  the  nave  and  transepts, 
which  Is  a  distinctly  Byzantine  feature.  The  most 
famous  of  these  cupolas  is  that  of  the  old  cathe- 
dral at  Salamanca,^  but  the  one  at  Zamora  is 
strikingly  like  it,  and  both  are  said  to  be  modelled 
after  similar   constructions   in   Auvergne. 

Although  the  foundation  of  the  old  cathedral 
at  Salamanca  dates  from  the  beginning  of  the 
twelfth  century,  and  all  its  details  are  so  distinc- 
tively Romanesque  that  it  Is  usually  designated  as 
a  Romanesque  monument,  its  vaulting  is  pointed 
and  Gothic,  and  the  early  years  of  the  thirteenth 
century  in  Spain  found  the  Gothic  movement  in 
full  swing.  Large  numbers  of  master  workmen 
had  been  Imported  from  France,  and  the  great 
Gothic  cathedrals  of  Leon,  Toledo,  and  Burgos 
were  soon  under  way.  The  beginning  of  the 
Gothic  period  in  Spain,  therefore,  may  be  placed 
at  about  the  year  1200,  and  the  style  continued  In 
vogue  with  Increasing  vigour  of  development  until 

«The  cupola  at  Salamanca  was  Richardson's  model  for  certain 
features  of  the  tower  of  Trinity  Church,  Boston. 

136 


PELAYO— HENRY   IV. 

its  culmination  during  the  reign  of  Ferdinand  and 
Isabella. 

Secular  and  domestic  architecture  during  the 
Romano-Byzantine,  and  early  Gothic  periods  in 
Spain,  as  might  be  expected,  is  much  less  impor- 
tant than  ecclesiastical  architecture.  Life  was  ex- 
tremely rude  even  well  along  into  the  reigns  of 
the  Catholic  sovereigns.  Ecclesiastical  ceremonials 
called  for  splendour  of  construction  and  ornamen- 
tation, but  private  needs  demanded  little  more 
than  the  security  afforded  by  strong  walls;  the  love 
of  luxury  apparently  being  satisfied  by  that  per- 
sonal adornment  of  silks  and  jewels  which  during 
their  earlier  empire  had  so  strongly  appealed  to 
the   Visigothic  temperament. 

Accordingly  the  little  that  has  been  preserved 
to  us  of  the  early  dwellings  of  the  Spanish 
nobles  indicates  the  rude  strength  of  the  fortress 
rather  than  the  splendour  of  the  palace.  Many  of 
the  walls  erected  for  the  defence  of  border  cities, 
besieged  again  and  again  by  both  Moslem  and 
Christian  arms,  were  superb  examples  of  mili- 
tary engineering  skill.  The  one  at  Avila,  which 
still  remains  complete,  is  one  of  the  finest  exam- 
ples of  mediaeval  defence  left  in  Europe.  With 
the  advance  southward  of  Christian  power,  a  line 
of  border  castles  was  erected  across  the  frontier 
from    which    the    name    Castile    was    given    to    a 

137 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

broad  stretch  of  the  debatable  territory.  Owing 
to  the  ruin  or  inaccessibility  of  the  most  of  these 
fortresses,  the  subject  of  Spanish  castles,  as  to 
materials  for  study,  still  remains  very  much  In 
the  air.  The  only  one  with  which  the  writer  Is 
familiar,  that  at  Segovia,  has  been  many  times  re- 
stored, the  last  restoration  a  very  recent  one;  and 
while  It  still  remains  primarily  a  fortification,  and 
a  most  picturesque  one,  its  interiors  suggest  noth- 
ing but  modern  and  rather  flimsy  workmanship. 


138 


Figure  of  Isabella,   Granada, 

Altar  of  Chapel  Royal. 


Chapter  VI 
THE  CHRISTIAN  KINGS 

FERDINAND  AND  ISABELLA 

ISABELLA  I.  (1474-1504),  at  her  accession, 
found  the  kingdom  of  Castile  almost  gone 
to  pieces;  the  result  of  long  years  of  misrule, 
and  the  arrogance  and  lawlessness  of  the  CastUIan 
nobility.  With  such  conditions,  and  with  the 
claims  of  La  Beltraneja  to  combat,  It  was  well 
for  the  young  Queen  that  her  marriage  not  only 
strengthened  her  position,  but  gave  her  an  able 
helpmate.  According  to  the  traditional  rights  of 
each  state,  both  Castile  and  Aragon  jealously 
maintained  for  many  years  separate  governments; 
yet  the  union  of  the  two  young  sovereigns  was 
the  beginning  of  a  united  rule  for  Christian  Spain, 
and  Hume  calls  them  the  greatest  governing 
geniuses   of  their  age. 

The  first  dozen  years  of  their  joint  reign  were 
required  to  seat  Isabella  firmly  upon  her  throne, 
and  to  establish  law  and  order  In  the  kingdom. 
But  at  the  end  of  that  time.  La  Beltraneja  was 
safely  enclolstered  in  Portugal,  travellers  upon  the 
high  roads  of  Spain  were  reasonably  safe  from 
robbery  or  murder,  and  the  poor  might  expect  a 

139 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

degree   of  justice    from   Castillan   courts.      It  was 
a  great  work  for  so  short  a  period. 

The  next  great  task,  and  that  which  had  beck- 
oned the  sovereigns  from  the  beginning,  was  the 
national  unification  of*  the  entire  peninsula.  The 
most  obvious  step  In  the  undertaking  was  the 
conquest  of  Granada.  But  as  yet  there  was  no 
real  consolidation  of  the  Christian  states.  Even 
under  a  united  king  and  queen,  the  Aragonese 
and  Castllians  were  divided  by  bitter  jealousies; 
and,  not  only  was  each  petty  state  a  distinct  and 
separate  entity,  maintaining  entirely  separate  insti- 
tutions, but  every  community  was  cut  up  into 
factions  by  social,  racial,  and  religious  peculiari- 
ties. 

It  is  easily  seen  to-day  that  a  national  unifica- 
tion of  such  discordant  and  long-divided  elements 
was  only  possible  along  religious  lines;  further, 
that  nothing  was  more  likely  to  promote  that 
union  among  the  Spaniards  than  the  conquest  and 
persecution  of  their  former  Moslem  masters.  It 
Is  very  probable,  therefore,  that  the  Catholic 
sovereigns  were  not  actuated  alone  by  a  narrow 
bigotry  when  they  embarked  upon  the  policy  of 
conquest  whose  final  aim  was  the  expulsion  of  all 
heretics  from  Spain;  but  that  their  underlying 
purpose,  which  could  only  be  effected  by  enthu- 
siasm for  a  common  cause,  was  the  unification  of 
all  the  Spanish  people. 

14^ 


FERDINAND  AND   ISABELLA 

It  IS  true  that  national  solidarity  achieved 
through  Intolerance  entailed  for  Spain  speedy  de- 
generation and  final  ruin,  but  with  her  Instincts 
and  training  It  was  not  to  be  expected  that  Isa- 
bella would  foresee  such  an  end,  and  Ferdinand 
was  far  too  much  absorbed  In  his  schemes  for  per- 
sonal aggrandizement  to  look  far  ahead.  Spain, 
therefore,  entered  at  once  upon  the  career  of  re- 
ligious persecution  which  has  given  her  so  gloomy 
a  celebrity,  but,  for  the  time,  the  nation  grew 
rapidly  In  power.  For  a  hundred  years  at  least, 
the  financial  drain,  entailed  by  the  persecution  and 
exile  of  her  most  Industrious  and  productive  popu- 
lation, was  largely  offset  by  the  almost  fabulous 
wealth  poured  into  the  peninsula  by  the  discovery 
of  America. 

In  the  short  list  of  really  great  queens,  Isa- 
bella of  Castile  Is  one  of  only  two  or  three  whose 
personal  characters  have  been  above  reproach. 
Because  of  that  fact,  and  her  able  administration, 
many  apologists  have  sought  to  clear  her  name 
from  responsibility  in  the  establishment  of  the 
Inquisition.  But,  In  a  woman  with  her  antece- 
dents. It  should  be  found  more  remarkable  that 
she  disliked  bull  fights,  than  that  she  gave  over 
thousands  of  her  most  valuable  subjects  to  death 
or  exile  for  the  sake  of  eradicating  from  her  king- 
dom what  she  considered  heresy. 

Isabella,  like  all  the  rulers  of  her  time,  stood 
141 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

for  absolute  power;  the  shedding  of  blood  was 
her  royal  prerogative,  a  right  held  by  her  prede- 
cessors for  hundreds  of  years.  Not  only  was  the 
divine  right  of  kings  an  essential  principle  in  her 
policy,  but  their  divine  righteousness  as  well.  Ac- 
cording to  this  latter  doctrine,  it  was  decreed  dur- 
ing her  reign,  that  thereafter  the  infamous 
Pedro  the  Cruel  should  be  known  as  Pedro  the 
Just.  And,  with  progenitors  of  whom  Pedro  is  a 
not  uncommon  example,  coupled  with  a  character 
largely  formed  by  early  and  profound  religious 
training,  religious  bigotry  in  Isabella  was  the  in- 
evitable result. 

As  might  be  expected,  three  of  the  four  men 
whose  names  stand  out  with  especial  prominence 
during  the  reign  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  were 
churchmen — the  Inquisitor  General,  Torquemada, 
and  the  great  Cardinal  Archbishops,  Mendoza 
and  Ximenes.  The  first,  Torquemada,  was  a 
nephew  of  Cardinal  Torquemada.  He  early  be- 
came a  Dominican  monk,  Prior  of  the  Monas- 
tery at  Segovia,  and  Confessor  to  the  Princess 
Isabella.  Of  great  piety  and  austerity,  Torque- 
mada early  acquired  an  ascendency  over  the  se- 
rious mind  of  the  young  Princess.  It  is  even  as- 
serted that  he  obtained  a  promise  from  her  that, 
in  the  event  of  her  elevation  to  the  throne,  she 
would  devote  her  reign  to  the  destruction  of 
heresv    and    the    aggrandizement    of    the    church. 

142 


FERDINAND  AND  ISABELLA 

For  ten  years  Torquemada  had  in  his  hands  the 
moulding  of  the  character  of  the  young  Queen. 
His  was  the  spirit  behind  the  throne  which  con- 
stantly preached,  as  the  first  duty  of  a  true  daugh- 
ter of  the  church,  the  extermination  of  heresy; 
and  upon  his  shoulders  must  rest  the  burden  of 
responsibility  for  Isabella's  intolerance.  From 
1484  until  his  death,  In  1498,  Torquemada  was 
Inquisitor  General,  and  during  those  y^ars  he  was 
the  most  masterful  spirit,  and  the  most  dreaded 
man  In  Spain. 

Cardinal  Mendoza,  son  of  Ifiago  Lopez  de 
Mendoza,  Marquis  de  SantUlana,  was  one  of  a 
long  line  of  princely  churchmen,  who,  as  archbish- 
ops of  Toledo,  fairly  shared  the  royal  honours  with 
the  sovereigns  of  Castile.  Indeed,  during  the 
reign  of  Henry  IV.,  and  the  early  years  of  that 
of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  Cardinal  Mendoza  Is 
frequently  spoken   of   as   the   third  king  of   Spain. 

Alfonso  Xlmenes  de  CIsneros  was  In  all  re- 
spects the  opposite  of  Mendoza.  Born  in  hum- 
ble life,  and  with  few  graces  of  person,  Xlmenes,  as 
he  is  best  known,  was  yet  possessed  of  consum- 
mate powers  of  leadership  and  administration. 
He  early  attracted  the  notice  of  Mendoza,  and 
when  the  appointment  of  Talevera  as  Archbishop 
of  Granada  left  vacant  the  post  of  Confessor  to 
the  Queen,  it  was  at  once  offered  to  him.  Al- 
though   Xlmenes    accepted    this    appointment    with 

143 


BUILDERS   OE  SPAIN 

reluctance,  and  even  manifested  a  strong  disin- 
clination for  the  honours  of  the  Primacy,  which 
fell  to  him  upon  the  death  of  Mendoza,  he 
threw  all  his  great  ability  Into  the  labours  of  both 
offices.  During  his  archbishopric  he  wielded  a 
power  even  greater  than  that  of  Mendoza. 

Abuses  and  scandals  being  rife  among  church- 
men, the  first  work  of  Xlmenes  was  the  reforma- 
tion of  the  clergy  and  monastic  orders,  a  task 
requiring  all  of  even  his  strenuous  powers.  But 
in  the  end  the  priesthood  was  reduced,  at  least 
for  a  time,  to  order  and  submission,  and,  during 
the  remainder  of  his  career,  Xlmenes  was  free  to 
render  what  was  often  Important  administrative 
service  to  the  Queen;  and  to  push  on  the  zealous 
prosecution  of  the  Inquisition. 

Gonsalvo  Hernandez,  better  known  as  Gonsalvo 
de  Cordova,  Is  the  fourth  name  that  demands 
especial  mention  during  the  reign  of  Ferdinand  and 
Isabella.  One  of  the  most  popular  among  the 
youthful  courtiers  in  the  train  of  the  young  Queen, 
Gonsalvo  emerges  into  prominence  In  Spain  dur- 
ing the  war  of  the  Conquest  of  Granada,  but  his 
universally  recognized  title,  *'  The  Grand  Cap- 
tain, "  was  won  during  the  earlier  Italian  cam- 
paigns of  Ferdinand.  The  half  legendary  prowess 
of  the  CId  is  marred  by  much  of  chicanery  and 
dishonesty,  but  history  fails  to  record  one  blot 
upon    the    knightly    honour    of    El    Gran    CapUan, 

144 


Figure  of  Ferdinand,  Granada. 

Altar  of  Chapel  Boyal. 


FERDINAND  AND   ISABELLA 

Gifted  with  unusual  graces  of  person,  as  well  as 
consummate  military  ability,  Gonsalvo  early  be- 
came the  idol  of  the  Spanish  army,  and  his  name 
still  remains,  not  only  among  the  greatest  pro- 
duced by  Spain,  but  with  those  of  the  few  great 
generals  who  stand  pre-eminent  In  the  history  of 
Europe. 

Although  his  many  defects  of  character  have 
conduced  to  far  less  of  popularity,  the  part 
played  by  Ferdinand  In  their  joint  reign  was 
equally  Important  with  that  of  Isabella.  His  lust 
for  power  and  greed  for  money  were  notorious 
even  during  the  lifetime  of  his  Queen.  More 
than  once  he  attempted  to  usurp  her  authority  in 
Castile,  and  It  required  all  her  great  wisdom  and 
tact  to  maintain  the  equality  with  Aragon,  of  which 
Castile  continued  to  be  jealous.  Furthermore,  It  is 
now  very  generally  conceded  that  the  zeal  with 
which  the  Inquisition  was  pushed  was  due  quite 
as  much  to  Ferdinand's  avarice  as  to  Isabella's 
bigotry.  The  property  of  condemned  heretics  was 
divided  between  the  church  and  state,  with  a  cer- 
tain amount  set  aside  for  the  informer,  and  many 
thousands  of  victims  are  known  to  have  suffered 
death  or  exile  for  no  other  reason  than  that  they 
were  rich.  Ferdinand  needed  vast  sums,  not  only 
to  pay  for  the  architectural  monuments  of  which 
this  reign  was  so  enormously  prolific,  ,but  to  sup- 
port   the    wars    In    Italy,    Sicily,    and    France,    in 

145 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

which  he  was  constantly  involved  by  his  tortuous 
foreign  policy. 

Although  of  the  Machiavelian  type,  Ferdinand 
is  usually  ranked  as  a  great  diplomatist,  and  he 
was  the  first  of  European  importance  produced  by 
Spain.  He  rarely  if  ever  kept  his  promises,  and 
his  entire  career  is  one  of  shrewd  and  crafty  trick- 
ery, but  the  fact  remains  that,  beginning  with  his 
kingship  in  a  petty  Spanish  principality,  Ferdi- 
nand made  himself  at  one  time  the  dictator  of 
Europe.  Moreover,  although  his  most  cherished 
designs  were  largely  overthrown  before  his  death, 
his  grandson  and  heir  ruled  the  most  extensive 
kingdom    of  modern   times. 

The  fondest  hopes  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella 
were  centred  upon  their  children,  and  the  bril- 
liant marriages  arranged  for  them  among  the 
most  powerful  royal  families  of  Europe  were  all 
a  part  of  Ferdinand's  vast  schemes  for  the  ex- 
pansion of  his  kingdom  and  the  aggrandizement 
of  his  house.  But  rarely  has  an  adverse  fate  so 
persistently  followed  so  promising  a  family.  The 
only  son  and  heir,  Juan,  after  a  most  attractive 
and  hopeful  youth,  died  at  the  early  age  of  nine- 
teen, only  two  months  after  his  marriage  with 
Marguerite,  daughter  of  Maximilian  of  Austria; 
and  his  posthumous  child  was  born  dead. 
Of  the  three  daughters  then  left  to  the 
Catholic  King  and  Queen,  the  eldest,  Isabella, 
was    married    twice,    each    time    to    a    prince    of 

146 


FERDINAND  AND  ISABELLA 

Portugal;  an  alliance  which  was  expected  to 
unite  that  kingdom  to  Spain.  But  this  Princess 
survived  her  second  marriage  scarcely  a  year,  and 
her  son,  recognized  as  the  heir  to  the  thrones  of 
both  Portugal  and  Spain,  died  at  the  age  of  two. 
The  second  daughter,  Catherine,  was  first  wedded 
to  Arthur,  Prince  of  Wales,  and  at  his  death 
to  his  brother,  Henry,  who  became  Henry  VIII. 
of  England.  The  latter.  It  will  be  remembered, 
began  his  "Bluebeard"  career  by  divorcing  this 
unhappy   Queen. 

The  third  daughter,  Juana,  popularly 
called  "  Crazy  Jane, "  was  early  married  to 
Philip,  son  and  heir  of  Maximilian  of  Austria 
and  Mary  of  Burgundy,  and  Philip,  at  his  mar- 
riage, was  already  in  possession  of  Burgundy,  his 
maternal  inheritance.  Philip  was  noted  for  strik- 
ing physical  beauty,  but  was  also  possessed  of  a 
mean  and  selfish  nature.  Juana  gave  him  her 
most  passionate  devotion,  but  received  little  in 
return  either  of  affection  or  consideration.  As  a 
consequence,  she  soon  became  exceedingly  unhappy, 
but  whether  she  also  became  mad  is  a  question 
upon  which  historians  have  never  agreed.  Some 
writers  go  so  far  as  to  assert  that  she  was  the 
victim  of  an  avaricious  father,  an  unscrupulous 
husband,  and  an  ambitious  son;  and  there  are  un- 
doubtedly many  facts  which  might  be  consid- 
ered to  warrant  such  a  conclusion.  The  greed 
and   duplicity   of  both   Ferdinand   and   Philip    are 

147 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

well  attested  by  many  acts  In  the  career  of  each, 
and  at  the  time  the  suspicion  was  largely  enter- 
tained that,  In  1504,  after  the  death  of  Isabella, 
the  two  kings  entered  Into  an  agreement  by 
which  Juana,  already  known  to  be  passionate  and 
Intractable,  should  be  set  aside  as  Insane,  while 
they  shared  the  government  of  Castile  between 
them.  This  suspicion  was  further  strengthened 
by  the  early  death  of  Philip,  under  circumstances 
which  strongly  suggested  poison  administered  by 
the  agents  of  the  crafty  Ferdinand.  But  there 
are  records  which  indicate,  at  least  at  times, 
Juana's  Incapacity  to  govern.  The  Castllians, 
therefore,  although  they  maintained  a  nominal  al- 
legiance to  her  during  her  lifetime,  were  forced 
to  leave  the  actual  control,  until  his  death.  In 
15 16,  In  the  hands  of  Ferdinand;  and  after- 
wards to  allow  it  to  pass  into  those  of  her  son 
Charles. 

Juana  left  two  sons:  Charles,  bom  in  Ghent 
in  1500,  who,  at  the  age  of  six,  inherited  his 
father's  kingdom  of  Burgundy;^  and  Ferdinand, 
who  was  brought  up  by  his  grandfather  in  Ara- 
gon.  King  Ferdinand  had  desired  to  bequeath 
his  own  kingdom  of  Aragon,  with  Its  depend- 
encies In  Sicily  and  Naples,  to  this  second 
grandson,    his    namesake.       But   the   unification    of 

1  Burgundy  then  included  what  is  now  Belgium,  Dauphiny,  and 
parts  of  Holland,  Savoy,  Provence,  and  Languedoc. 

148 


FERDINAND   AND   ISABELLA 

the  peninsula,  accomplished  during  his  joint  reign 
with  Isabella,  was  not  to  be  so  lightly  undone, 
and  Charles  inherited  the  titles  and  dependencies 
of  both  Castile  and  Aragon,  at  last  united  under 
one  sovereign.  In  the  annals  of  Spain  he  is 
known  as  Charles  I.  But,  In  addition  to  his 
earlier  titles  and  possessions  and  the  sovereignty 
of  united  Spain,  Charles  was  to  Inherit,  In  15 19, 
from  his  paternal  grandfather,  Maximilian,  the 
kingdom  and  title  of  Grand  Duke  of  Austria,  and 
the  same  year  saw  his  election  to  the  imperial 
dignity  as  Charles  V.,  Emperor  of  Rome. 

Allusion  has  already  been  made  to  the  enormous 
activity  In  architecture  during  the  reigns  of  the 
Catholic  sovereigns.  Indeed,  it  sometimes  seems 
while  travelling  in  Spain  that  no  great  monuments 
are  left  which  they  did  not  build,  rebuild,  or  em- 
bellish. Although  a  number  of  the  great  Gothic 
cathedrals  were  begun  a  hundred  and  fifty  years 
earlier,  such  stupendous  works  were  rarely  If  ever 
completed,  and  It  was  always  possible  to  add 
chapels,  furnishings,  and  ornament,  ad  infinitum. 
At  their  accession,  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  follow- 
ing the  prevailing  mode,  built  in  the  Gothic  style; 
but  within  a  few  years,  Ferdinand's  diplomacy 
and  foreign  wars  Introduced  the  first  wave  of  the 
Renaissance  movement  from  Italy  and  France. 
This   impulse   first  made   Itself   felt  In  an   addition 

149 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

to  Gothic  construction  of  Renaissance  ornament, 
whose  character  gave  the  name  Plateresque  to  the 
later  Gothic  period,  which  period  also  served  as  a 
period  of  transition  to  the  Renaissance  movement 
proper.  So  rapidly  was  this  movement  of  transi- 
tion developed  that,  while  the  first  Important  mon- 
ument of  the  Catholic  monarchs,  the  Church  of 
San  Juan  de  los  Reyes  at  Toledo,  was  an  example 
of  pure,  though  florid  Gothic,  the  masterpiece  of 
the  transition,  the  portal  of  the  University  of 
Salamanca  was  executed  only  a  few  years  later,* 
and  within  twenty  years  (1494),  the  splendid 
Renaissance  Hospital  of  Santa  Cruz  was  begun  In 
Toledo.  This  period  of  transition  was  the  golden 
period  of  Christian  architecture  In  Spain.  For 
hundreds  of  years  Spanish  craftsmen  had  wrought 
under  the  leadership  of  skilled  master  workmen, 
both  Moslem  and  Christian.  With  the  mastery 
of  Byzantine,  Moorish,  and  Gothic  methods,  and 
with  the  Inspiration  of  the  first  breath  of  classic- 
ism, whose  slavish  imitation  had  not  yet  descended 
like  a  blight  upon  their  fervid  imaginations,  the 
Spaniards  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  were  freer 
than  ever  before  or  since  to  work  out  their  own 
native  Impulses.  With  all  Its  over-elaboration  and 
incongruities,  the  splendour  of  the  result,  as  well 
as  its  Spanishness,  Is  beyond  question. 

Following    the    use    of    Renaissance    ornamental 
designs,    came    the    Introduction    of    fundamental 

150 


FERDINAND   AND   ISABELLA 

classical  forms  "of  construction,  and  the  dominance 
of  horizontal  lines  Instead  of  the  vertical  ones  of 
the  Gothic.  So  closely  Is  this  early,  or  Plater- 
esque  Renaissance,  Intermingled  with  the  late,  or 
Plateresque  Gothic,  that  both  styles  are  frequently 
found  In  the  same  building.  But  the  entire 
Plateresque  period  was  a  short  one.  Enormously 
rich  and  prolific,  the  over-facility  of  clever  work- 
manship which  It  rapidly  developed,  coupled  with 
the  unrestraint  of  native  Spanish  taste,  quickly 
stifled,  first  the  vigour  of  the  Gothic  spirit,  and 
later  the  early  freshness  of  the  Renaissance. 

Freely  Intermingled  with  both  movements  was 
the  Influence  of  Saracenic  craftsmen  and  Saracenic 
traditions.  In  the  South,  as  earlier  Indicated,  such 
traditions  have  remained  a  power  even  down  to 
the  present  day;  there,  all  through  the  Christian 
development,  Moslem  arches,  doors,  windows,  and 
towers  are  freely  added  to  Gothic  and  Renais- 
sance construction.  Even  In  the  North,  Moslem 
forms  and  methods  long  remained  a  strong  Influ- 
ence. Horseshoe  arches  and  other  matters  of  de- 
tail are  not  Infrequent  in  many  early  Northern 
Christian  churches,  while  well  along  in  the  Renais- 
sance period,  certain  arrangements  and  occasional 
bizarre,  almost  grotesque  effects  of  ornamentation 
are  unquestionably  the  result  of  an  Indiscriminate 
mingling  of  Saracenic  with  Gothic  or  Classical 
motives. 

151 


Chapter  VII 
THE  CHRISTIAN  KINGS 

CHARLES  I.   (V.)— PHILIP  II. 

CHARLES  I.  (15 16-1555)  is  best  known 
even  in  the  peninsula  by  his  greater 
title,  Charles  V.,  and  with  his  accession 
the  history  of  Spain  becomes  in  a  great  meas- 
ure the  history  of  Europe,  in  which  for  many  years 
the  *'  Emperor "  became  the  chief  figure.  But 
the  prestige  of  its  king  by  no  means  advanced 
either  the  power  or  prosperity  of  the  peninsula. 
At  his  accession  Charles  had  never  even  seen 
Spain,  and  during  his  reign  of  forty  years  he  vis- 
ited it  only  six  times.  Furthermore,  with  his  vast 
empire  it  was  inevitable  that  he  should  regard  it 
as  but  a  province  whose  chief  value  lay  in  its 
ability  to  furnish  men  and  money  for  his  Eu- 
ropean wars. 

The  Spaniards  at  once  resented  the  position  of 
secondary  importance  assigned  them  in  the  realm 
of  their  young  sovereign,  and  when  the  Flemish 
servants  sent  by  Charles  to  represent  him,  dis- 
puted the  authority  of  the  regent  appointed  by 
Ferdinand  (the  Cardinal  Archbishop  Ximenes), 
evincing  at  the  same  time  a  disposition  to  exploit 

152 


Charles  J\      Titian. 

Masee   del  Pcado,   Madrid. 


CHARLES  I.    (V.)— PHILIP   11. 

the  peninsula  for  the  benefit  of  the  Low  Coun- 
tries, Spain  at  once  blazed  into  opposition.  When, 
therefore,  a  year  later  (15 17),  Charles  himself 
arrived,  he  met  with  but  a  sullen  reception. 
Especially  in  Castile  the  spirit  of  distrust  ran 
high.  Juana  was  still  living,  and  it  was  whis- 
pered that  possibly  she  was  not  mad  after  all.  At 
any  rate  her  son  should  only  be  permitted  a  joint 
rule  with  her.  The  early  demand  for  subsidies 
produced  in  Aragon  and  Catalonia  even  a  stiffer 
resistance;  and  resentment  in  Aragon  was  further 
aggravated  by  the  removal  of  the  King's  younger 
brother,  Ferdinand,  from  Aragon,  where  he  had 
been  brought  up,  to  Flanders. 

Further  call  for  illegal  subsidies,  and  the  con- 
tinued gift  to  his  Flemish  followers  of  the  high- 
est offices,  finally  resulted  in  widespread  and  open 
rebellion.  But  for  the  chronic  disunion  of  the 
people,  this  outbreak  might  have  cost  the  young 
Emperor  his  Spanish  crown.  Charles  at  once 
proved  his  sagacity  by  standing  aside  until  the 
rebels,  by  their  own  quarrels,  had  defeated  their 
own  cause:  and  by  1523,  when  the  peninsula  was 
subdued,  he  had  learned  to  treat  his  Spanish  sub- 
jects with  so  much  consideration  that,  during  the 
remainder  of  his  reign,  they  were  fairly  submis- 
sive to  his  rule. 

As  gold  still  continued  to  pour  into  Spain  from 
America,  the  peninsula  was  the  Emperor's  chief  re- 

153 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

llance,  not  only  for  men  to  fill  his  armies,  but  for 
money  to  maintain  his  Imperial  state.  The  conse- 
quent drain  upon  her  resources,  together  with  that 
of  the  continued  persecutions  of  the  Inquisition, 
promised  the  early  exhaustion  of  the  peninsula; 
but  the  Spaniards  loved  the  glory  of  which 
Charles  gave  them  full  measure,  and  It  is  un- 
doubtedly true  that  no  Institution  ever  established 
in  Spain  was  more  generally  popular  than  the  In- 
quisition. The  persecution  of  heretics  enriched  the 
Informer;  cupidity  is  a  fairly  universal  human 
weakness,  and  Intolerance  is  an  Inseparable  con- 
comitant of  pride.  Spanish  bigotry  had  been  the 
ready  instrument  employed  In  the  unification  of 
Spain,  and  was  to  shape  much  of  Its  later  his- 
tory. When  Charles  V.,  in  1531,  ceded  his  Ger- 
man empire,  together  with  his  Imperial  honours, 
to  his  brother  Ferdinand,  he  Is  considered  by 
many  historians  to  have  been  forced  to  the  act  by 
the  final  recognition  of  the  impossibility  of  uniting 
under  one  rule  the  Catholicism  of  Spain  and  the 
growing  Protestantism  of  Germany. 

Charles  V.  made  an  early  marriage,  which  was 
very  popular  in  Spain,  with  Isabella  of  Portugal. 
The  union  Is  considered  to  have  been  a  very 
happy  one,  being  marked  by  every  evidence  of  the 
deep  attachment  of  the  Emperor  for  his  wife. 
Her  portrait  by  Titian  Indicates  a  delicate  type 
or  beauty  and  the  high-bred  dignity  of  a  charm- 

154 


.^^•■taaratigfv'  ^j>^j3Wte^aaHi-^' '.  y 


Empress  Isabella.      Titian. 

Museo   del  Prado,   Madrid. 


CHARLES  I.    (V.)— PHILIP   IL 

ing  woman  who  is  every  inch  a  queen.  Besides 
Its  intrinsic  value,  this  portrait  has  been  rendered 
famous  by  the  Emperor's  fondness  for  It.  It  was 
especially  prized  after  Isabella's  early  death,  from 
which  time  Charles  is  said  to  have  carried  It  con- 
stantly with  him  on  his  never-ending  journeys, 
and  during  his  last  Illness  it  was  hung  at  the  foot 
of  his  bed  where  his  waking  eyes  should  always 
fall   upon   It. 

With  no  authentic  portraits  before  this  date,  it 
seems  amazing  to  begin  a  gallery  of  Spanish  mon- 
archs  with  the  perfections  of  Titian.  But  earlier 
Spanish  sovereigns  were  rarely,  If  ever,  out  of 
Spain,  and  Spanish  painters  of  any  Importance 
date  not  earlier  than  the  sixteenth  century. 
Charles  V.  found  Titian  in  Italy,  and  was  many 
times  painted  by  him,  as  was  also  his  son  and  suc- 
cessor, Philip  II. ;  and  to-day  the  popular  con- 
ception of  both  royal  sitters  Is  due  quite  as  much 
to  the  art  of  the  great  painter  as  to  the  long 
volumes  which  have  been  written  of  their  reigns. 
The  keynote  of  both  faces  Is  the  profound  melan- 
choly which  may  well  have  been  their  Inheritance 
from  cruel  and  bloodthirsty  progenitors,  and  In 
their  successors  was  to  become  a  species  of  In- 
sanity. If  a  man  without  a  sense  of  humour  Is 
half  mad,  then  all  of  these  descendants  of  Ferdi- 
nand and  Isabella  were  at  least  touched  with  de- 
mentia.    Even    the    great    Charles    V.    was    prob- 

155 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

ably  a  victim  to  it  during  the  last  years  of 
his   life. 

Charles  V.  inherited  much  of  the  administrative 
genius  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  but  the  close  of 
his  reign  found  him  bitterly  disappointed  in  the 
failure  of  his  vast  scheme  of  centralizing  the  sov- 
ereignty of  Europe  In  the  throne  of  Catholic 
Spain;  long  greatly  afflicted  with  gout,  the  result 
of  yielding  for  years  to  an  inordinate  appetite; 
and  burdened  by  an  incurable  hypochondria.  In 
1555,  therefore,  he  voluntarily  relinquished  his 
remaining  possessions,^  the  thrones  of  Flanders 
and  Spain,  In  favour  of  his  son  Philip.  He  then 
retired  to  the  poor  and  almost  inaccessible  monas- 
tery of  St.  Juste,  near  the  confines  of  Portugal, 
where  he  died  In   1558. 

Philip  II.  (1555-1598)  inherited  what  appeared 
to  be  the  most  powerful  kingdom  in  Europe,  but 
the  seeds  of  decay,  sown  even  during  the  reign 
of  Isabella,  were  already  beginning  to  produce 
their  inevitable  fruit,  and  under  the  heavy  hand 
of  Philip  her  downward  pace  was  rapidly  accel- 
erated. It  must  be  admitted  that  the  young  king 
found  a  difficult  task  when  he  succeeded  to  the 
throne  of  Spain.  The  country  was  already  greatly 
exhausted  by  the  drain  of  the  Moslem  Conquest, 
the  Inquisition,   and  the  long  and  costly  reign   of 

1  The  imperial  dignity  and  German  kingdom  had  already  passed 
into  the  possession   of  Ferdinand. 

156 


CHARLES  I.    (V.)— PHILIP   11. 

Charles  V.  In  the  face  of  these  discouragements, 
Philip  was  saddled  with  the  maintenance  of  the 
splendid  traditions  of  the  two  powerful  preceding 
reigns,  together  with  the  already  Impossible  po- 
litical system  which  the  Emperor  had  Inherited 
from  the  wily  Ferdinand,  but  which  Philip  reso- 
lutely set  himself  to  follow  regardless  of  changing 
conditions. 

With  mediocre  natural  abilities,  and  brought  up 
by  women  and  the  church,  Philip  would  have 
proved  Inadequate  to  a  far  simpler  situation. 
During  the  early  years  of  the  preceding  reign, 
Charles  V.  had  rather  permitted  than  pushed  the 
Inquisition,  but  before  his  death  he,  too,  had  been 
bitten  with  the  mania  of  his  Spanish  subjects  for 
persecution,  the  culmination  of  whose  horrors  was 
to  be  reached  under  Philip.  It  Is  not  Improbable, 
however,  that  neither  Charles  nor  Philip  was  as 
entirely  actuated  by  religious  bigotry  as  has  long 
been  supposed.  Each  stood  for  centralization  of 
absolute  power  in  the  person  of  the  sovereign, 
and  with  each  the  national  unity  of  Spain  was 
increasingly  essential. 

As  has  already  been  pointed  out,  that  unity 
had  been  achieved  (as  far  as  unity  was  possible 
in  Spain),  and  could  only  be  preserved  along  re- 
ligious lines.  A  royal  decree  issued  by  Charles 
had  nominally  absorbed  all  Spanish  subjects  Into 
the  Catholic  church,  and  thereafter  heresy  was  re- 

157 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

garded  as  a  resistance  of  royal  authority.  The 
persecutions  of  Charles'  later  years  and  all  of 
those  under  Philip  were  considered,  therefore,  not 
only  as  a  righteous  work  In  which  the  Emperors 
were  the  agents  of  the  Almighty,  but  as  the  most 
essential  part  of  their  political  system.  That  sys- 
tem was  pursued  to  the  bitter  end  during  the 
reign  of  Philip,  and  his  entire  foreign  policy  con- 
sisted of  repeated  attempts  to  foist  it  upon  the 
other  nations  of  Europe  under  the  leadership  of 
Spain.  The  result  was  the  utter  ruin  of  his  own 
kingdom  and  the  absolute  loss  of  all  prestige  in 
the  affairs  of  the  continent. 

With  Philip's  persecutions  in  the  Netherlands 
under  Alva  we  have  nothing  to  do  here,  but  a 
word  must  be  said  of  the  rebellion  which  broke 
out  in  Granada  as  the  result  of  Increasing  hard- 
ships and  restrictions  imposed  upon  Its  Moslem 
and  Jewish  population.  For  a  number  of  years 
that  province  became  a  prey  to  a  bitter  civil  war- 
fare which  was  not  ended  until  Granada  was 
practically  clear  of  Moriscoes,  its  most  valuable 
population.  This  stamping  out  of  heresy  in  Gra- 
nada was  accomplished  by  an  army  under  the 
natural  son  of  Charles  V.,  Don  Juan  of  Austria. 

The  matrimonial  career  of  Philip  II.  is  suffi- 
ciently long  and  varied  to  demand  a  volume  by 
itself.  His  first  wife  was  his  cousin,  Maria  of 
Portugal,  but  she  died  within  eighteen  months  of 

158 


Philip  IL      Titian. 

Museo   del  Prado,   Madrid. 


CHARLES  I.    (V.)— PHILIP   II. 

her  marriage,  leaving  a  sickly  and  melancholy  In- 
fant, the  unfortunate  Don  Carlos.  After  her 
death  a  second  marriage  was  proposed  for  Philip, 
with  that  noble  woman  and  Invincible  Protestant, 
Jeanne  of  Navarre.  As  the  latter  finally  married 
the  Due  de  Vendome,  and  became  the  mother  of 
Henry  IV.  of  France,  It  Is  rather  startling  to  re- 
flect upon  the  changes  which  might  have  been 
made  In  European  history  had  she  made  the  Span- 
ish marriage  Instead. 

Philip's  second  marriage,  contracted  a  year  be- 
fore his  accession,  was  with  another  cousin,  Mary 
Tudor  (daughter  of  Henry  VIII.  and  Catherine 
of  Aragon).  With  Philip  this  union  was  simply 
a  part  of  what  was  at  the  time  his  father's 
foreign  policy,  which  necessitated  an  alliance  with 
England.  But  Mary  Is  said  to  have  been  much 
enamoured  of  her  solemn  Spaniard,  having  fallen 
In  love  with  the  Titian  portrait  which  was  all  she 
had  seen  of  Philip  before  their  wedding  day.  The 
marriage  was  exceedingly  unpopular  in  England, 
and  Mary's  early  death  renders  It  of  little  im- 
portance In  the  history  of  either  England  or 
Spain.  Moreover,  the  alliance  between  the  two 
countries,  which  Charles  had  hoped  to  strengthen, 
necessarily  fell  away  under  Mary's  successor,  Eliz- 
abeth, whose  claims  to  legitimacy  and  the  English 
throne  necessitated  a  repudiation  of  the  Roman 
church,   and   English  enmity  with   Catholic  Spain. 

159 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

The  third  queen  of  Philip  II.  was  Elizabeth* 
of  Valols,  daughter  of  Henry  II.  and  Catherine 
de  Medlcls.  At  the  time  of  their  marriage,  in 
I559>  the  young  princess  was  fourteen  years  of 
age  and  Philip  thirty-three,  and  Elizabeth  had 
been  previously  betrothed  to  Philip's  son,  Don 
Carlos.  This  circumstance  has  served  as  a  foun- 
dation for  much  of  romance.^  There  are  tales  of 
the  King's  jealousy,  and  he  is  even  charged  with 
the  secret  murder  of  his  son;  but  recent  investiga- 
tion claims  to  prove  what  Is  probably  true,  that 
the  young  Prince  was  mad,  and  that  his  seclusion 
was  necessary.  Evidence  is  further  produced  to 
show  that  a  deep  affection  existed  between  Philip 
and  Elizabeth,  that  the  marriage  was  a  very 
happy  one,  and  that  her  death,  in  1568,  plunged 
the  King  yet  more  deeply  into  his  inherited  mel- 
ancholia. A  number  of  children  were  born  to 
Elizabeth,  but  only  two  daughters  survived  her. 
Of  these,  Clara  Eugenia  long  occupied  a  place 
in  her  father's  affections  accorded  to  no  other,  and 
finally  succeeded  to  the  government  of  the  Neth- 
erlands. 

The  fourth  and  last  Queen  presented  to  Spain 
by  Philip  was  his  niece  Anne,  daughter  of  his 
sister  Maria   and  the  Emperor  Maximilian.     This 

2  Sometimes  called  Isabella.  The  two  names  are  used  inter- 
changeably for  some  of  the  late  queens  of  Spain. 

3  Schiller's  Don   Carlos. 

160 


^m 


Mary    Tudor.     Moro. 

Museo   del  Prado,   Madrid. 


CHARLES  I.    (V.)— PHILIP   II. 

queen    survived   her   marriage    ten    years    and   left 

several  children,  one  of  whom  became  Philip  III. 

•  •  •  «  • 

When  Charles  V.  ascended  the  throne  of  Spain, 
a  rage  for  classicism  In  architecture  had  already 
seized  all  Europe,  and  Instead  of  a  free  adapta- 
tion of  the  spirit  of  Greek  and  Roman  art,  which 
had  been  the  result  of  the  first  breath  of  the 
Renaissance  movement,  a  closer  Imitation  of  clas- 
sical models,  or  of  Italian  Imitations  of  them,  now 
became  the  fashion.  Although  Charles  had  not 
yet  been  to  Italy,  he  at  once  Imported  Italian 
architects  to  superintend  the  erection  of  buildings 
which,  as  elsewhere  at  this  period,  were  not 
churches  but  palaces.  By  the  beginning  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  Spain,  as  well  as  the  rest  of 
Europe,  was  pretty  well  supplied  with  churches. 
Furthermore,  ideas  of  private  luxury,  which  had 
already  taken  root  and  borne  much  fruit  In  Italy, 
were  spread  broadcast  over  the  continent  through 
the  intercommunication  produced  by  a  century 
during  which  most  of  the  great  armies  of  Europe 
had  penetrated  into  that  peninsula. 

The  result  was  a  great  palace-building  age, 
whose  richest  effort  was  found  In  Italy  and 
France;  but.  In  Spain  as  well,  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury produced  many  monuments  of  domestic  archi- 
tecture which  are  magnificent  in  size  and  sumptu- 
ous   in    detail.     Among    the    important    works    of 

i6i 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

the  reign  of  Charles  V.  Is  the  Renaissance  palace 
at  Granada  (to  make  way  for  which  a  portion  of 
the  Alhambra  was  destroyed),  begun  soon  after 
his  accession,  In  the  Tuscan  manner,  by  Italian 
architects.  It  was  never  finished,  and  a  rebuilding 
of  the  old  palace  (the  Alcazar)  at  Toledo,  al- 
though begun  by  Charles,  was  left  for  Philip  II. 
to  complete. 

Many  German  and  Flemish  artisans  had  found 
their  way  Into  Spain  during  the  fourteenth  and 
fifteenth  centuries,  but  their  influence  naturally 
reached  Its  greatest  Importance  during  the  reign 
of  Charles  V.  From  the  first,  the  Flemish  Influ- 
ence was  more  strongly  felt  In  the  lesser  rather 
than  in  the  monumental  arts.  The  earliest  coloured 
glass  In  Spain  Is  believed  to  be  Italian,  or  pro- 
duced under  Italian  Influence,  but  by  far  the  larger 
proportion  made  during  the  fifteenth  century  and 
later,  was  manufactured  under  Flemish  super- 
vision. Flemish  wood  carvers  were  famous  for 
their  skill,  and  the  altar  furniture  of  many  Span- 
ish churches  was  carved  into  rich  relief  by  schools 
of  Flemish  workmen.  Besides  these  there  were 
Northern  painters  and  workers  in  metal,  with 
skilled  craftsmen  In  many  of  the  Industrial  arts, 
who  flocked  into  Spain  in  the  train  of  the  Em- 
peror, who  give  a  distinct  character  to  much  of 
the  late  Gothic  and  early  Renaissance  ornament. 

But  in  architecture  the  tendency  all  through  the 

162 


CHARLES  I.    (V.)— PHILIP   II. 

reign  of  Charles  V.  was  toward  a  closer  follow- 
ing of  classical  models  which  culminated  in  the 
Greco-Roman  style  of  the  reign  of  Philip  II. 
This  style,  in  Spain,  is  frequently  called  that  of 
Herrera,  from  the  architect  who  was  its  chief 
exponent.  Its  development  was  primarily  a  revolt 
or  reaction  from  the  over-floridness  of  the  Plater- 
esque  periods,  but  its  pedantic  barrenness  ex- 
presses, perhaps  better  than  any  other  one  thing, 
the  phlegmatic  temperament  of  the  cold  and  pains- 
taking Philip.  Its  monuments  display  the  same 
slavish  following  of  tradition,  regardless  of  condi- 
tions, which  characterized  his  rule;  moreover,  its 
best  example,  the  Escorlal,  serves  not  only  as  the 
tomb  of  an  exhausted  dynasty,  but  as  another  ex- 
ample of  the  exaggeration  of  Spanish  taste.  It  Is 
the  extreme  expression  in  Europe  of  Its  period, 
whose  results  everywhere  In  Spain  are  clumsy, 
pedantic,  and  cold. 

Industrial  development  under  Christian  rule  may 
be  dismissed  with  few  words.  In  the  early  days 
of  the  reconquest  the  products  of  Moslem  handi- 
crafts were  seized  upon  with  avidity,  but  Moslem 
craftsmen  were  soon  subject  to  persecution  and 
exile,  and,  as  the  resulting  Impoverishment  of  the 
country  was  later  attributed  to  excessive  personal 
luxury,  stringent  sumptuary  laws  and  heavy  taxa- 
tion discouraged  and  finally  ruined  production. 
Under    the    Moslems,  Spain    had    been    the    first 

163 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

manufacturing  country  in  Europe,  but  under  the 
Spanish  sovereigns  her  products  were  speedily  re- 
duced to  practically  nothing.  During  the  reign 
of  Philip  II.,  in  Seville  alone,  sixteen  thousand 
looms  were  reduced  to  less  than  three  hundred, 
and  the  results  elsewhere,  and  in  other  industries, 
were  not  less   disastrous. 


164 


Philip  IV.      Velasquez. 

Museo   del  Prado,   Madrid. 


Chapter  VIII 
THE  CHRISTIAN  KINGS 

PHILIP  III— PHILIP  IV. 

PHILIP  III.  (1598-1621)  was  as  indolent 
as  his  father  had  been  industrious,  and 
soon  found  Insupportable  the  centrali- 
zation of  all  power  and  authority  In  the  person  of 
the  king,  which  it  had  been  the  llfework  of 
Philip  II.  to  establish.  Under  Philip  II.,  It  had 
been  necessary  that  every  slightest  detail  of  the 
administration  should  receive  the  royal  sanction. 
The  result  was  that  his  ministers  were  deprived 
of  all  Initiative,  and  the  machinery  of  the  state 
was  rendered  hopelessly  slow  and  cumbersome, 
while  the  king  was  the  most  overworked  man  in 
Spain.  Philip  III.  had  neither  ability  nor  desire 
to  imitate  such  plodding  and  painstaking  methods, 
and  after  a  few  months  turned  over  all  the  af- 
fairs of  his  kingdom  to  his  corrupt  favourite,  the 
Duke    of   Lerma. 

As  it  was  still  conceived,  in  the  minds  of  her 
devoted  subjects,  that  Spain  was  the  greatest  na- 
tion on  earth,  It  continued  to  be  necessary  that 
marked  magnificence  should  be  maintained  by  her 
sovereign,    and   that   a   prominent   part   should   be 

165 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

played  wherever  possible  in  the  affairs  of  Eu- 
ropean diplomacy.  The  consequent  drain  of  al- 
ready sorely  depleted  resources  proceeded  with 
increasingly  disastrous  results,  and  the  misfortunes 
which  had  attended  most  of  the  ventures  of 
Philip  II.  continued  to  follow  those  of  his  suc- 
cessor. 

Under  Philip  IL,  the  province  of  Granada,  and 
in  fact  all  of  Andalusia,  had  been  depopulated 
and  ruined;  now  under  Philip  III.,  Valencia  was 
to  be  devastated.  There  still  remained  in  that 
province  many  Moriscoes,  who,  although  law- 
abiding  and,  of  necessity,  nominally  Christian,  were 
also  thrifty,  industrious,  and  rich.  Their  spolia- 
tion, on  the  pretext  of  insincerity  of  profession, 
was  easily  contrived,  and  proved  an  admirable 
means  of  replenishing  the  purses  of  informers  and, 
for  a  short  time,  the  royal  treasury. 

Thus  was  completed  that  desolation  of  the  pen- 
insula which,  during  the  reigns  of  the  later  Span- 
ish monarchs,  so  impoverished  the  country  that  It 
was  often  absolutely  Impossible  to  collect  taxes. 
The  mass  of  the  Spanish  population,  long  infected 
with  a  scorn  of  labour  with  the  hands,  early 
learned  of  the  Visigothic  nobility,  spent  their  days 
in  idleness  and  beggary,  or  flocked  into  monas- 
teries where  they  remained  equally  a  burden  upon 
the  country.  At  one  time  it  was  even  found 
necessary  to  send  from  door  to  door  to  beg  for 

1 66 


PHILIP  III.— PHILIP  IV. 

money  to  pay  the  personal  expenses  of  the  King, 
whose  lavish  manner  of  living,  Instead  of  render- 
ing him  unpopular,  was  considered  necessary  to 
the  proud  position  Spain  was  thought  to  hold 
among  the  great  nations  of  Europe. 

Philip  III.  was  early  married  to  Marguerite  of 
Austria,  and  the  really  brilliant  marriages  ar- 
ranged for  three  of  their  children  indicate  that, 
at  moments,  Spain  was  able  to  Infect  other  coun- 
tries with  her  own  notions  of  her  greatness.  The 
son  and  heir  of  Philip  III.,  who  became  Philip 
IV.,  was  married  to  Elizabeth  (or  Isabella),  of 
France,  daughter  of  Henry  IV.;  his  daughter 
Anne  became  the  queen  of  Elizabeth's  brother, 
Louis  XIII.;  and  Maria,  after  being  long  sought 
by  James  I.  of  England,  for  his  son  Charles  (I.), 
and  at  one  time  betrothed  to  him,  was  finally  mar- 
ried to  Maximilian  III.,  of  Hungary. 

Philip  IV.  (1621-1 665)  found  Spain  In  so  de- 
plorable a  condition  that  greater  depths  of  misery 
seem  Impossible,  but  during  his  long  reign,  and 
that  of  his  son,  Charles  II.,  even  deeper  wretch- 
edness was  to  be  reached.  Philip  was  weak  and 
self-indulgent,  and  at  once  turned  over  all  the 
work  of  administration  to  the  Duke  of  Ollvares. 
This  minister,  by  his  fertility  of  resource  In  pro- 
viding amusement  for  his  royal  patron,  retained 
his  ascendency  over  the  king  for  many  years. 
With    Philip    fully    occupied,    Ollvares    plundered 

167 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

the  country  at  will,  but  stripped  as  It  already  was, 
and  with  the  vast  sums  required  to  maintain  the 
traditionary  grandeur  of  the  King,  it  seems  im- 
probable that  the  favourite  could  have  got  much 
for  himself  except  power.  The  odium  of  the 
early  years  of  this  reign  has  always  been  heaped 
upon  Olivares,  but  the  very  maintenance  of  his 
position  necessitated  the  continuance  of  the  ruin- 
ous policy  of  Philip  11. ,  to  which  an  utterly  cor- 
rupt  bureaucracy   had   been   added   by    Philip   III. 

The  gradual  loss  of  Spanish  possessions  in  Italy, 
Sicily,  and  the  Low  Countries  must  not  be  en- 
larged upon  here,  where  it  must  syffice  to  say  that 
the  great  protagonists  of  Philip  III.  and  Philip 
IV.  in  the  field  of  European  statesmanship,  were 
Richelieu,  Mazarin,  and  Louis  XIV.,  and  that  as 
France  became  the  chief  among  the  great  conti- 
nental powers,  Spain  sank  to  the  position  of  the 
weakest. 

After  twenty-five  years  of  Philip  IV.  and 
Olivares,  there  was  no  longer  a  question  of  ex- 
tending, and  scarcely  of  holding,  foreign  do- 
minion for  Spain,  but  rather  of  how  she  was  to 
maintain  the  integrity  of  her  own  soil. 

By  the  one  piece  of  good  fortune  which  fell  to 
his  reign,  Philip  II.  had  been  able  to  incorporate 
Portugal  within  his  realm,  but,  through  the  at- 
tempted exactions  of  Olivares,  the  Portuguese,  in 
1640,    revolted  and   declared  themselves   independ- 

168 


PHILIP  III.— PHILIP  IV. 

ent.  At  the  same  time  Catalonia  blazed  into  re- 
bellion, placing  herself  under  the  protection  of 
France;  and  one  of  the  leading  grandees  of  Spain, 
the  Duke  of  Medina  SIdonIa,  attempted  to  set  up 
an  Independent  sovereignty  in  Andalusia.  The 
treason  of  the  latter  accomplished  nothing  except 
his  own  disgrace,  but  the  struggle  In  Catalonia 
endured  for  a  number  of  years,  and  Portugal  was 
permanently  lost  to  Spain. 

If  Ollvares  were  the  scourge  of  this  reign,  its 
good  genius  was  the  first  queen  of  Philip,  Eliza- 
beth of  Bourbon.  The  king  made  no  pretence  of 
concealing  the  scandal  of  his  life,  but  he  gave  her 
great  respect  and  as  much  affection  as  he  could 
spare  from  his  own  royal  person.  The  downfall 
of  Ollvares  was  the  result  of  the  disasters  for 
which  he  was  held  responsible,  but  it  was  Imme- 
diately instigated  by  the  Queen,  who  had  long 
watched  his  course  with  dismay.  She  also  at- 
tempted to  Inspire  the  King  with  some  degree  of 
her  own  spirit  and  ability,  but  Philip,  who  now 
essayed  to  rule  for  himself,  soon  proved  even 
more  Incompetent  than  Ollvares.  To  retrieve  her 
fallen  prestige,  Spain  was  once  more  plunged  into 
European  diplomacy  and  foreign  wars.  But,  ex- 
cept for  a  few  successes  won  by  the  popular  young 
Don  Juan,  a  natural  son  of  the  King  by  the  ac- 
tress Maria  Calderon,  defeat  after  defeat  fell  to 
Spanish    arms.       During    the    remainder    of    this 

169 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

reign,  Spanish  pride  was  literally  dragged  In  the 
dust. 

The  death  of  Elizabeth,  In  1644,  left  Philip 
with  two  children,  Don  Carlos  Baltasar  and  Maria 
Theresa.  Two  years  later,  in  1646,  the  young 
Prince  fell  a  victim  to  that  scourge  of  the  middle 
ages,  small  pox.  Then  Philip  made  a  second 
marriage  with  his  niece,  Marianne  of  Austria, 
earlier  betrothed  to  Don  Carlos  Baltasar.  Mari- 
anne, described  as  bright  and  buxom,  was  sent 
into  Spain  at  the  age  of  seventeen  to  become  the 
wife  of  the  lugubrious  King,  and  she  soon  fell  a 
victim   to   the   traditions   of   his   pompous   court. 

The  story  goes  that  among  the  gifts  offered 
the  young  Queen  upon  her  royal  progress  across 
her  new  kingdom,  one  unfortunate  deputation  pre- 
sented silk  stockings.  The  solemn  grandees  who 
were  In  attendance  are  represented  as  being  much 
shocked  at  so  Indelicate  an  attention.  "  Do  you 
not  know,"  they  expostulated,  "that  the  Queen  of 
Spain  has  no  legs?"  Whereupon  Marianne,  to 
whose  Imperfect  understanding  of  Spanish  the 
reprimand  seemed  most  portentous,  burst  Into 
tears,  crying,  "  She  never  could  have  been  dragged 
from  Vienna  had  she  known  that  her  legs  were 
to  be  offered  up  as  a  sacrifice  to  her  new  dignity." 
Marianne  was  accompanied  on  her  journey  by  her 
brother  Leopold,  who  later  became  Leopold  I.,  of 
Austria,   and  who   at   this   time   desired   to   marry 

170 


Infante  Carlos  Baltasar.     Velasquez. 

Museo   del  Prado,   Madrid. 


PHILIP  III.— PHILIP  IV. 

the  Infanta  Maria  Theresa.  Failing  In  that,  he 
remained  unmarried  a  number  of  years,  and  finally 
espoused  his  niece.  Marguerite,  the  daughter  of 
Marianne  and 'Philip. 

The  administrative  inactivity  of  both  Philip  III. 
and  Philip  IV.  is  largely  responsible  for  rendering 
their  reigns  the  golden  age  of  Spanish  literature 
and  art.  The  Idle  courts  had  to  be  entertained, 
and  the  names  of  Cervantes,  Lope  de  Vega,  and 
Calderon  are  sufficient  to  indicate  the  brilliancy  of 
the  entertainment,  as  well  as  Its  Iberic  character. 
Moreover,  If  there  were  nothing  else  to  render 
famous  the  reign  of  Philip  IV.,  the  work  of  Velas- 
quez would  shed  a  glory  upon  It  for  all  time. 
This  great  painter,  recognized  to-day  as  the 
greatest  in  the  history  of  the  art,  early  attracted 
the  notice  of  the  King,  who  at  once  gave  him 
commissions,  and  soon  made  him  painter  to  the 
court. 

In  the  royal  patronage  extended  during  the  life 
of  Velasquez  (i 599-1 660),  Philip  IV.  honoured 
himself  even  more  than  he  did  his  painter,  for 
through  the  splendid  gallery  of  portraits  left  by 
Velasquez,  we  gain  our  most  intimate  knowledge 
of  the  time.  For  forty  years  the  great  painter 
lived  under  the  shelter  of  the  royal  palace  at 
Madrid,  and  portrait  after  portrait  of  the  King, 
the  royal  family,  nobles,  courtiers,  and  buffoons 
issued  from  his  tireless  hands. 

171 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

The  portraits  of  Philip  begin  with  one,  now  In 
Madrid,  In  which  we  see  a  pale  narrow  face, 
'proud  and  sensitive,  but  with  a  heavy  jaw  already 
its  most  prominent  feature.  Then,  through  a  long 
list  of  subsequent  portraits  culminating  in  the  last 
lifeless  mask,  now  In  London,  we  may  trace  the 
degeneration  of  the  "planet  king"  into  a  sensu- 
ous, self-centred,  and  pompous  old  age.  The  art 
of  Velasquez  Is  so  vivid  and  telling  that  the 
actual  personality  of  Philip  IV.  seems  to  gaze  out 
of  these  canvases,  and  the  curious  observer  is 
still  repelled  by  the  gloom  In  which  the  King  so 
enshrouded  his  dignity  that  he  Is  said  to  have 
smiled  but  three  times  In  his  whole  life.  He 
also  seldom  indulged  In  conversation  with  his 
grandees,  fearing  thereby  to  lessen  the  reverence 
with  which  he  desired  them  to  regard  him. 

We  have  only  one  portrait  by  Velasquez  of 
Queen  Elizabeth,  and  that  not  of  great  Importance. 
Indeed,  It  Is  catalogued  as  not  entirely  by  the  mas- 
ter's hand.  In  It  she  Is  painted  on  horseback, 
and  the  picture  Is  now  In  Madrid.  Don  Carlos 
Baltasar  was  a  favourite  subject  of  the  court 
painter.  Four  portraits  of  the  young  Prince  are 
now  In  the  Prado.  One  of  these,  that  In  which 
the  Infante  Is  on  horseback,  is  one  of  the  most 
popular  portrayals  of  child  life  In  existence.  An- 
other.  In  which  he  stands  under  a  tree,  has  for 
many  an  equal  charm.     Besides  these  In  Madrid, 

172 


Las  Men'tnas.     Velasquez. 

Mnseo   del  Prado,   Madrid. 


PHILIP  III.— PHILIP  IV. 

there  Is  hardly  a  gallery  of  repute  which  has  not 
one  or  more  portraits  of  this  little  Prince.  The 
one  now  in  Boston,  purchased  a  few  years  ago, 
is  said  to  have  cost  that  museum  $80,000. 

Accounts  of  Don  Carlos  Baltasar  vary  greatly. 
We  have  tales  of  his  charm  and  brilliant  promise, 
and  stories  of  early  dissipation.  But,  In  the 
popular  estimation,  the  boy  that  Velasquez 
loved  to  paint  must  always  remain  a  bright 
engaging  lad,  Inheriting  the  fearless  confidence 
of  his  maternal  grandfather,  Henry  IV., 
and  something  at  least  of  the  personal  attraction 
of  the  great  Isabella.  It  Is  only  too  probable, 
however,  that  his  ruin  was  already  begun  before 
his  death  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  and  that  his 
early  removal  from  the  vicious  court  was  the  best 
thing  that  could  have  happened  to  him. 

The  doll-like  Infanta  Maria  Theresa,  wHo  was 
early  betrothed  to  her  cousin,  Louis  XIV.,  of 
France,  was  also  frequently  painted  by  Velasquez. 
Several  of  her  portraits  are  said  to  have  preceded 
her  Into  France.  If  one  of  these,  as  seems  prob- 
able. Is  that  which  is  now  In  the  Louvre,  the  ob- 
server to-day  cannot  but  wonder  what  the  young 
princess  wore  when  presented  to  him,  if,  as  we 
are  told,  the  French  King  was  appalled  at 
her  costume  when  he  finally  saw  her.  This  mar- 
riage was  delayed  for  a  number  of  years;  for, 
after  the  death  of  Don  Carlos  Baltasar,  the  little 

173 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

Princess  became  heiress  to  the  crown  of  Spain, 
and  as  such  could  not  be  permitted  to  make  such 
an  alliance.  It  was  only  after  the  second  mar- 
riage of  Philip,  and  the  birth  of  an  heir,  that 
Maria  Theresa  became  Queen  of  France. 

At  the  date  of  Philip's  marriage  with  Mari- 
anne, Velasquez  was  at  the  height  of  his  powers, 
and  the  Queen  and  her  young  children  were  fre- 
quent subjects  for  his  brush.  There  is  a  famous 
Marianne  in  the  Prado,  and  an  even  more  famous 
Marguerite  (her  daughter)  has  long  been  one  of 
the  gems  of  the  Louvre.  This  little  Marguerite 
Is  also  the  central  figure  in  the  masterpiece  of  the 
artist's  second  period,  the  *'  Las  Meninas  "  of  the 
Prado.  In  this  great  picture,  the  painter  has  left 
us  a  most  engaging  child,  but  one  whose  pre- 
cocious solemnity  indicates  even  thus  early  an  in- 
heritance of  the  royal  melancholia.  There  is  also 
a  glimpse  in  Las  Meninas  which  suggests  an  occa- 
sional breath  of  spontaneity  at  the  heavy  court. 
The  entrance  of  the  King  and  Queen,  indicated  In 
the  mirror,  with  the  oft-repeated  tale  of  how  the 
King  himself  added  the  red  cross  which  decorates 
the  breast  of  the  painter,  gives  one  of  the  few 
bright  touches  left  us  of  the  life  of  Philip  IV. 

All  else  tells  of  dreariness  and  disaster.  Not 
only  was  the  kingdom  plunged  Into  misery,  and 
Its  very  existence  during  these  latter  days  hang- 
ing  in   the  balance,   but   the  court  was   a   nest   of 

174 


hifmta  Maria   Thcrese.     Velasquez. 

Lourre, 


PHILIP  III.— PHILIP  IV. 

vice  and  intrigue.  The  giddy  young  Queen,  fright- 
ened and  repelled  by  its  dismal  atmosphere,  soon 
threw  herself  into  the  arms  of  Its  worst  elements; 
but  the  scandal  of  her  later  career  may  almost 
be  excused  upon  the  ground  of  the  wretchedness 
of  those  first  few  years  In  Spain. 

Three  sons  were  born  to  Philip  IV.  and  Mari- 
anne, of  whom  portraits  of  two,  Prospero  and 
Ferdinand,  painted  by  Velasquez,  may  now  be 
seen  In  Vienna,  whither  they  were  doubtless  sent 
to  her  own  family  by  the  Queen.  Both  these  chil- 
dren died  In  infancy,  and  of  the  third  son,  Carlos, 
who  became  Charles  II.,  we  have  only  repulsive 
descriptions;  for  this  las,t  degenerate  result  of 
vicious  living  and  constant  Intermarriage  was  not 
born  until  after  the  death  of  the  great  painter. 
The  later  years  of  Philip  IV.  were  not  less  un- 
happy than  those  of  Philip  II.  Everywhere  he 
was  surrounded  by  unmitigated  gloom,  and  at  last 
he  saw  himself  obliged  to  leave  his  tottering 
throne  to  the  regency  of  a  young  and  selfish 
Queen,  chiefly  occupied  with  schemes  for  her  own 
advancement  or  pleasure,  while  his  heir  was  a 
sickly  Infant  of  four  whose  physical  deformities 
already  Indicated  the  seml-Idlocy  of  his  later  years. 

Charles  II.  (i  665-1 700)  was  permitted  to  oc- 
cupy the  Spanish  throne  for  thirty-five  years,  and 
no  one  fact  better  establishes  the  traditional  rev- 
erence of  the  Spanish  people  for  his  office.     Again 

175 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

and  again,  both  before  and  since,  the  peninsula 
has  endured  untold  wretchedness  at  the  hands  of 
her  sovereigns,  and  yet  has  hedged  them  about 
with  a  halo  of  divinity  which  has  justified  and 
even  sanctified  both  weakness  and  vice.  Punish- 
ment for  misgovernment  might  be  inflicted,  or 
vengeance  wreaked,  upon  vicious  ministers,  but  the 
person  of  the  king  was  always  Inviolate.  Of  this 
Inherited  veneration  for  the  royal  authority,  the 
reign  of  Charles  II.  was  the  supreme  test. 

With  a  monstrous  head  and  an  abnormal  de- 
veloprnent  of  the  Hapsburg  jaw,  which,  with  a 
swollen  tongue,  rendered  speech  and  mastication 
Imperfect,  Charles  II.  could  neither  walk  nor  talk 
until  his  tenth  year,  and  he  died  of  senile  decay 
before  he  was  forty.  Alternately  the  tool  of  his 
scheming  mother,  Marianne,  or  of  his  natural 
brother,  the  popular  young  Don  Juan,  the  poor 
half  idiotic  King  was  hurried  from  one  set  of  in- 
trigues to  another,  and  the  history  of  his  reign 
records  little  more  than  these  plots  and  counter- 
plots. 

Don  Juan  succeeded  In  arranging  a  marriage 
for  this  degenerate  specimen  of  royalty  with 
Marie  Louise  of  Orleans,  granddaughter  of 
Charles  I.  of  England,  and  niece  of  Louis  XIV. 
of  France.  Whether  her  death,  after  a  few 
years,  was  the  result  of  unhappiness  or  poison 
may  never  be  known.      The  party  of   Marianne 

176 


PHILIP  III.  PHILIP   IV. 

then  secured  another  unfortunate  In  the  person  of 
a  German  princess,  Anne  of  Neuberg,  who  be- 
came Queen  of  Spain  In  1692.  The  latter  proved 
much  less  sensitive  and  far  more  ambitious  than 
poor  Marie  Louise,  and  during  the  few  remaining 
years  of  Charles  II.,  the  court  was  fairly  divided, 
in  the  struggle  for  the  succession,  between  her 
party,  that  of  Austria,  and  that  of  Marianne, 
which  represented  France. 

It  Is  not  possible  or  necessary  here  to  enter 
fully  Into  the  question  of  the  Spanish  succession 
which  for  many  years  plunged  all  Europe  Into 
war.  Suffice  It  to  say  that  both  the  Austrian 
Emperor,  Leopold  I.,  and  the  French  King,  Louis 
XIV.,  were  grandsons  of  Philip  TIL,  and  both  had 
married  daughters  of  Philip  IV.  The  Spanish 
court,  therefore,  was  soon  divided  into  bitterly  hos- 
tile camps  representing  these  royal  claimants,  each 
striving  to  keep  possession  of  the  person  of  the  King 
and  to  wrest  from  him  a  will  in  favour  of  Its  candi- 
date. Success  finally  crowned  the  efforts  of  the 
French  party,  and  Charles  signed  a  will  In  favour  of 
Philip  of  Anjou,  grandson  of  Louis  XIV.  In 
1700,  Philip  of  Anjou,  as  the  first  of  the  Bour- 
bons, succeeded  to  the   Spanish  throne. 

Architectural  effort  during  the  reigns  of  these 
later  Spanish  kings  did  not  equal  the  brilliance  of 
their  product  in  literature   and  painting.    As  else- 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

where  In  Europe,  the  severity  of  the  Greco-Roman 
style  was  followed  by  the  heavy  decoration  of  the 
Baroque,  with  an  accentuation,  in  the  Spanish  de- 
velopment, of  its  heaviness  and  coarseness. 

But  with  all  the  vast  expenditure,  the  living  of 
the  times  was  rude;  and  money  was  squandered 
on  shows  and  pageants  rather  than  upon  perma- 
nent monuments.  It  is  not  likely  that  the  writers 
already  mentioned,  or  even  the  great  Velasquez, 
would  have  enjoyed  the  patronage  of  Philip  IV. 
if  their  service  had  required  the  expenditure  of 
much  money.  We  hear  of  a  costly  toy  palace 
built  by  Olivares,  in  the  park  of  Buen  Retiro  at 
Madrid,  and  presented  to  the  king.  But  that 
has  been  burned,  and  to-day  we  have  no  great 
monuments  left  us  of  these  reigns. 


178 


Chapter  IX 
THE  CHRISTIAN  KINGS 

THE  BOURBONS 

PHILIP  V.  (1700- 1 746)  was  only  seven- 
teen years  old  when  he  became  King  of 
Spain,  and  his  bride,  Marie  Louise  of 
Savoy,  to  whom  he  was  wedded  at  Barcelona, 
was  but  fourteen.  With  a  new  dynasty,  a  new 
life,  In  which  only  happiness  and  prosperity  were 
expected  to  have  a  part,  was  anticipated  for  the 
nation.  For  the  time  even  the  partisans  of  the 
rival  claimant,  the  Archduke  Charles  of  Austria, 
were  silenced. 

Philip  and  his  young  Queen  were  accompanied 
into  Spain  by  the  brilliant  Princess  des  Urslns, 
sent  with  them,  in  the  pay  of  Louis  XIV.,  to  in- 
fluence their  administration  in  the  Interests  of 
France.  Whether  this  woman  accomplished  more 
harm  than  good  is  a  matter  of  varying  opinion, 
but  some  advisor  was  necessary  for  these  royal 
children,  and  they  might  easily  have  fared  worse. 
Naturally  the  first  difficulties  which  Philip  had 
to  face  were  those  connected  with  his  accession: 
for,  at  the  first  breath  of  dissatisfaction  which  fol- 
lowed the  introduction  of  French  ways  and  French 

179 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

servants  into  Spain,  the  adherents  of  the  Arch- 
duke Charles  effected  an  uprising  In  his  favour. 
The  ensuing  struggle,  which  dragged  along  for 
twenty  years,  finally  Involved  all  the  great  powers 
of  Europe.  Twice  Charles  Invaded  Spain,  and 
twice  he  occupied  Madrid.  At  one  time  Philip 
was  a  fugitive  across  the  border  and  all  seemed 
to  be  lost.  But,  at  bottom,  the  Spaniards  did  not 
like  Charles,  and  they  did  like  Philip,  and  In  the 
end  the  latter  was  left  in  undisturbed  possession 
of  his  kingdom. 

This  early  popularity  of  Philip  V.  was  partially 
due  to  his  youth  and  to  a  certain  dashing  Intrepid- 
ity which  at  times  flamed  out,  but  far  more  to 
the  Inspiration  of  his  plucky  little  queen.  Indeed, 
it  Is  likely  that  Marie  Louise  and  the  Princess  des 
Urslns  between  them  counted  for  more  than 
Philip  did  himself  In  holding  the  crown  for  this 
first  of  the  Spanish  Bourbons.  Possessed  of  end- 
less wit  and  resource  and  unconquerable  courage, 
Marie  Louise  more  than  once  saved  the  day  for 
her  more  unstable  husband.  She  sold  her  jewels 
to  pay  his  armies,  and  when  things  looked  black 
infused  fresh  life  into  his  campaigns.  No  better 
proof  of  her  greater  ability  Is  needed  than  the 
fact  that  after  her  death  Philip  counted  for  little 
in  the  events  of  his  reign. 

After  her  loss,  Philip  sank  into  a  condition  of 
lethargy,  with  periods  of  melancholia  which  later 

i8o 


THE  BOURBONS 

approached  insanity;  and  he  Immediately  fell  un- 
der the  control  of  the  Princess  des  Ursins,  into 
whose  hands  he  practically  resigned  the  adminis- 
tration of  all  affairs  of  state.  The  latter,  fearing 
to  lose  the  reins  of  control  through  the  King's 
possible  remarriage  concluded  to  arrange  that 
marriage  herself,  thus  assuring  the  choice  of  a 
bride  who  would  prove  a  tool  in  her  hands.  But, 
clever  as  she  was,  the  Princess  des  Ursins  was  out- 
witted by  the  Cardinal  Alberoni.  The  latter, 
while  secretly  intriguing  with  the  queen  dowager,* 
managed  to  ingratiate  himself  with  the  Princess, 
and  by  representing  Elizabeth  Farnese  as  young, 
soft,  and  pliable,  succeeded  In  marrying  her  to 
Philip.  But  Instead  of  being  gentle  and  timid, 
Elizabeth  was  bold  and  resolute.  Even  more,  she 
was  the  niece  of  Anne  of  Neuberg,  and  sent  into 
Spain  on  purpose  to  avenge  that  banished  queen. 
It  followed,  therefore,  that  when  the  Princess  des 
Ursins  met  her  expected  tool  on  the  frontier,  she 
found  herself  packed  off  across  the  border  in  such 
haste  that  she  was  not  even  allowed  to  procure  a 
change  of  clothing.  Thus  summarily  was  closed 
the   chapter  of  her   influence  In  Spain. 

With  such  a  beginning,  it  Is  easy  to  see  that 
the  remainder  of  the  reign  of  Philip  V.  was 
really     that     of      his      imperious     second      wife. 

1  Anne   of   Neuberg,   who   still   burned    for   vengeance   upon   the 
Bourbons,  who  had  outwitted  her  at  the  dying  bedside  of  Charles  II. 

i8i 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

Further,  as  the  methods  of  Elizabeth  were  those 
of  the  petty  Italian  court  from  which  she  came, 
that  Spain  was  to  be  Involved  In  Interminable 
Intrigues  and  constant  difficulties  with  other  Euro- 
pean powers.  As  Made  Louise  had  left  two  sons, 
there  seemed  to  be  but  little  chance  of  a  Spanish 
Inheritance  for  either  of  those  born  to  Elizabeth; 
and  the  foreign  wars  in  which  Spain  was  in- 
volved during  the  latter  half  of  Philip's  reign  were 
largely  the  result  of  her  efforts  to  provide  thrones 
for  them  elsewhere.  As  a  consequence,  Elizabeth 
Farnese  was  never  popular  In  Spain.  Yet  so  per- 
sistent and  Indomitable  was  she  that,  at  the  death 
of  Philip,  one  of  her  sons,  Charles,  was  King  of 
Naples,  and  the  other,  Philip,  was  Duke  of 
Parma. 

In  the  domestic  administration  of  this  reign,  it 
was  to  be  expected  that  great  changes  would  be 
attempted,  and  that  those  changes  would  ulti- 
mately prove  unpopular.  During  the  disastrous 
reigns  of  the  seventeenth  century,  the  peninsula 
had  fallen  at  least  a  hundred  years  behind  other 
European  nations  in  all  that  pertained  to  the 
advance  of  modern  civilization.  The  rich  and 
prosperous  kingdom  that  the  Christian  kings  had 
wrested  from  Moslem  rule  had  been  turned  into  a 
desert.  Now  sweeping  reforms  In  all  depart- 
ments had  become  essential  to  its  very  existence. 
But  while  the  Spanish  people  desired,  or  tho  'vht 

182 


THE  BOURBONS 

they  desired,  a  change;  when  It  came  to  a  defi- 
nite overthrow  of  the  methods  to  which  they 
were  accustomed  which  were  Spanish,  and  the  sub- 
stitution of  those  which,  although  better,  had  the 
disadvantage  of  being  French,  Spanish  pride  at 
once  flamed  out:  and  the  first  hundred  years  of 
Bourbon  administration  was  consumed  by  the 
struggle  to  reconcile  the  peninsula  to  a  sounder 
system  of  finance,  to  modern  industrial  methods, 
and  even  to  the  establishment  of  law  and  order. 
With  the  intrigues  in  which  the  reign  of  Philip  V. 
was  unavoidably  involved  It  is  not  to  be  ex- 
pected that  much  should  be  accomplished  beyond 
the  establishment  of  his  house  upon  the  throne. 
But  through  the  tact  of  the  Princess  des 
Ursins  and  the  ability  of  certain  of  his  French 
ministers,  a  foundation,  at  least,  was  laid  for  a 
new  era  In  Spain. 

Ferdinand  VI.  (i 746-1 759)  was  the  second 
son  of  Philip  V.  and  Marie  Louise  (Louis,  the  elder 
son,  having  died  before  his  father),  and  his  short 
reign  is  chiefly  memorable  as  a  period  of  peace. 
A  gentle  kindly  man,  Ferdinand  VL,  for  his  age, 
was  a  just  and  enlightened  ruler.  From  the  war- 
fare which  had  been  almost  constant  during  the 
preceding  reign,  he  found  the  peninsula  once 
more  on  the  verge  of  exhaustion,  and  he  reso- 
lutely set  himself  to  give  his  kingdom  the  tran- 
quillity which  was  necessary  for  the  recovery  of  Its 

183 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

financial  and  physical  balance.  In  all  that  Ferdi- 
nand undertook  for  the  welfare  of  his  people  he 
was  ably  seconded  by  his  devoted  Queen,  Barbara 
of  Braganza.  But  her  early  death,  In  1758,  plunged 
him  Into  such  deep  grief  that,  like  his  father, 
he  fell  Into  melancholia  and  Insanity,  and  his 
death,  which  followed  a  year  later,  left  the  throne 
to  Charles,  the  eldest  son  of  Elizabeth  Farnese, 
who.  In  order  to  accept  It,  resigned  the  throne 
of  Naples. 

Charles  III.  (1759-1788),  with  his  Queen, 
Amelia  of  Saxony,  landed  In  Spain  toward  the 
close  of  the  year  1759.  During  the  few  months 
which  had  been  required  to  close  up  his  affairs 
in  Naples,  his  mother  had  acted  as  regent,  and  It 
soon  became  evident  that  she  expected  to  continue 
her  rule  through  her  son.  But,  together  with 
marked  ability,  Charles  had  Inherited  a  large 
share  of  his  mother's  will  and  Independence,  and 
after  his  arrival  she  ceased  to  figure  with  any 
degree  of  Importance   In  the  affairs  of  Spain. 

Of  the  first  three  of  the  Spanish  Bourbons, 
Philip  V.  was  the  most  popular,  but  Charles 
III.  was  by  far  the  ablest.  Although  Charles 
allowed  himself  to  become  entangled  In  a  few 
petty  foreign  wars,  his  reign,  upon  the  whole,  was 
one  of  peace,  and  under  his  wise  domestic  admin- 
istration, a  season  of  growing  prosperity  as  well. 
Many    of    the    reform    measures    Inaugurated    by 

184 


THE  BOURBONS 

the  King  were  much  disliked,  as,  for  Instance, 
the  paving  of  the  streets  of  Madrid,  until  then 
well  nigh  impassable  with  mud  and  rubbish. 
The  filth  was  at  least  Spanish,  and  the  people 
resented  the  Implication  that  French  cleanliness 
was  better.  Moreover,  when  Charles  Issued  a  de- 
cree prohibiting  the  muffling  of  the  face  in  the 
Spanish  capa  and  slouch  hat,  a  custom  generally 
followed  and  naturally  a  cloak  for  crime,  resent- 
ment burst  into  a  rebellion  that  nearly  cost  the 
King  his  throne. 

Of  the  many  and  wholesome  reforms  which 
were  accomplished  during  this  reign,  a  bare  list 
would  extend  far  beyond  our  limits.  As  was  to 
be  expected  from  a  king  who  had  already  founded 
the  now  famous  manufactory  of  Neapolitan  porce- 
lain at  Capodlmonte,  industries  were  re-estab- 
lished; education  was  nationalized;  the  Inquisition, 
which  still  lingered,  a  curse  upon  the  penin- 
sula, was  relegated  to  a  position  of  suf- 
f ranee;  and  a  modern  and  fairly  sound  sys- 
tem of  finance  was  inaugurated.  But  all  these 
and  many  other  reforms  were  imposed  by  a  more 
or  less  despotic  king,  rather  than  worked  out  by 
the  people  themselves;  and  it  was  inevitable  that 
under  less  able  rulers  Spain  must  suffer  from  a 
reaction.  The  monarchs  who,  during  the  next  hun- 
dred years,  succeeded  Charles  III.  were  not  only 
less  able,  but   increasingly  weak   and  corrupt.     As 

185 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

a  consequence,  the  story  of  Spain  during  the 
nineteenth  century  is  another  chapter  of  mis- 
government  and  misery,  Involving  the  peninsula 
in  a  succession  of  insurrections  and  revolutions 
which  largely  annulled  the  work  of  Charles,  and 
again  left  Spain  a  century  behind  in  the  prog- 
ress of  modern  Europe. 

Charles  IV.  (178 8-1808),  the  son  of  Charles 
III.,  succeeded  to  the  throne  at  the  age  of 
forty.  He  was  simple  and  honest,  but  perhaps 
it  Is  not  exceeding  the  truth  to  say  that  he 
was  quite  the  stupidest  king  who  ever  occupied 
a  throne.  The  crowning  misfortune  of  this  reign, 
however,  is  found  in  the  fact  that  the  Queen, 
Marie  Louise  of  Parma,  possessed  many  of  the 
qualities  of  her  domineering  ancestress,  Elizabeth 
Farnese,  together  with  a  number  of  even  less  de- 
sirable traits.  She  at  once  became  the  power  be- 
hind the  throne,  and  when  it  is  added  that  she. 
In  turn,  was  ruled  by  her  weak  and  Incapable 
favourite,  Godoy,  little  more  need  be  said.  The 
son  and  heir,  Ferdinand,  resented  the  position 
occupied  by  Godoy,  and  headed  a  party  In  oppo- 
sition to  that  of  his  mother,  and,  during  the 
remainder  of  this  reign,  the  court  at  Madrid  was 
disgraced  by  a  succession  of  family  broils  which 
conduced,  neither  at  home  nor  abroad,  to  the  dig- 
nity or  prosperity   of  the  kingdom. 

Of  government  there  was  practically  none; 
186 


Charles   IV.      Goya. 

Museo   del  Prado,   Madrid. 


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THE   BOURBONS 

peculation  was  rife  even  In  connection  with  the 
highest  offices;  and  the  foreign  policy  of  the 
Queen  and  her  favourite  was  as  weak  and 
senseless  as  It  was  possible  for  It  to  be; 
this  at  a  time  when  a  wise  head  and  a 
strong  hand  were  absolutely  necessary  at  the 
helm. 

Although  France  was  literally  torn  asunder 
by  her  revolution,  and  all  Europe  was  seeth- 
ing with  Ideas  of  democracy,  Spain,  as  yet  a 
hundred  years  In  arrears  In  modern  thought, 
clung  to  her  unworthy  kings  with  a  devotion 
which  only  their  Incapacity  and  shamelessness  de- 
stroyed. It  was  the  weakness  of  her  rulers  that 
plunged  the  peninsula  into  the  rapidly  changing 
conditions  which,  elsewhere  In  Europe,  ushered  In 
the  nineteenth  century,  and  for  which  she  was 
utterly  unprepared. 

The  overthrow  of  Charles  IV.  was  the  im- 
mediate result  of  Spanish  diplomacy,  or  lack  of 
It,  with  France.  The  witless  King,  Inspired  by 
Godoy,  to  save  his  cousin,  Louis  XVI.,  first 
truckled  to  the  "Terror,''  then  crawled  at  the 
feet  of  the  Directory,  and  later  fell  Into  a  trap 
laid  for  him  by  Napoleon.  By  this  time  Ferdi- 
nand was  In  opposition  to  his  father,  and,  owing 
to  the  general  disgust  with  the  government  of 
the  King,  the  young  Prince  soon  became  a  pop- 
ular idol. 

187, 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

Napoleon,  therefore,  found  it  easy  to  open  up 
a  way  for  himself  into  Spain  by  offering  to  sup- 
port Charles  and  Godoy;  and  in  the  end  he 
not  only  persuaded  them,  but  Ferdinand  as  well, 
to  confer  with  him  on  French  soil.  Then,  when 
all  were  safely  In  his  hands  at  Bayonne,  the 
Emperor  informed  them  that  the  throne  of  Spain 
was  Intended  for  his  brother  Joseph,  while  for 
them  were  reserved  Chateaux,  not  In  Spain,  but 
In  France,  with  suitable  pensions.  Charles  and 
Ferdinand  Indulged  In  their  usual  mutual  recrimi- 
nations, but,  with  Godoy,  the  pusillanimous  trio 
were  soon  fawning  at  the  feet  of  the  dictator 
and  thankfully  accepting  what  he  chose  to  give 
them. 

If  Napoleon  could  have  managed  the  Spanish 
people  as  easily  as  he  disposed  of  the  affairs  of 
the  King  and  Infante,  his  star  need  not  so  soon 
have  begun  to  decline,  and  possibly  Spain  might 
even  yet  lie  under  Napoleonic  rule.  But  the 
Spaniards  were  roused  to  fury  at  the  trick  played 
upon  the  now  Idolized  Ferdinand;  for  Charles 
they  seem  not  to  have  cared;  but  his  son  they 
loved  with  a  passionate  and  unreasoning  devotion, 
and,  to  place  him  upon  the  throne,  the  country 
was  plunged  for  four  years  Into  the  struggle  of 
the  Peninsular  War.  England  lent  a  hand,  osten- 
sibly In  aid  of  the  Spanish  cause,  but  really  to 
impose    a    limit    to    the    power    of    the    Emperor, 

i88 


THE   BOURBONS 

and  In  the  Spanish  campaigns  the  supremacy  of 
Napoleon   began   to   decline. 

From  the  beginning,  the  French  occupation  of 
Spain  was  fiercely  resented.  Every  step  of  the 
French  advance  was  bitterly  contested,  and  con- 
stant insurrections  followed  all  Joseph's  attempts 
to  govern.  Twice  Saragossa  revolted.  Twice  she 
was  besieged  by  French  armies,  and  each  time 
the  desperation  of  the  defence  is  only  compar- 
able with  that  of  the  historic  siege  of  Numantia. 
Upon  Joseph's  arrival  in  Madrid,  he  reported  to 
his  brother  that  he  controlled  only  the  territory 
awed  by  his  bayonets:  and  conditions  constantly 
grew  worse  rather  than  better  until  the  victory 
of  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley  at  Vlttoria,  in  1813, 
finally  expelled  the   French   from   Spain. 

Ferdinand,  who  now  became  Ferdinand  VII. 
(18 14-1833),  was  welcomed  back  by  his  devoted 
people  with  extravagant  expressions  of  joy,  but 
the  Spain  that  he  found  was  a  very  different 
Spain  from  that  which  he  had  left  behind  him 
six  years  earlier.  The  time,  it  is  true,  had  been 
spent  in  fighting  his  battles,  but  it  had  been 
spent,  as  well,  in  acquiring  new  and  as  yet 
scarcely  digested  Ideas  of  liberty  and  democracy. 
A  constitution  had  been  framed  by  a  party  of 
those  who  had  defied  the  French  rule;  and,  al- 
though it  was  a  crude  effort,  Ferdinand  found 
that    he   was    expected   to    sign    it   and   become    a 

189 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

constitutional  sovereign.  But  Ferdinand  was  a  des- 
pot, and  he  promptly  hanged  as  many  as  possible 
of  those  concerned  in  the  advance  of  liberal  Ideas, 
who,  naturally,  were  largely  those  to  whom  he 
owed  his  throne.  The  situation  speedily  became 
intolerable.  For  a  time  Spain  was  given  up  to 
a  "terror,"  and  the  remainder  of  Ferdinand's 
reign  was  passed  In  a  continuous  struggle  between 
the  party  of  the  King  and  that  of  the  constitution. 
Both  factions  were  extremists,  and  neither  could 
be  relied  upon  to  fulfill  the  promises  wrested 
from  them  when  out  of  power.  The  pendulum, 
therefore,  constantly  swung  from  one  to  the  other, 
while  the  advisors  of  the  weak  and  domineering 
Ferdinand  lacked  even  the  dignity  of  Godoy. 

In  the  world  of  art,  one  great  name  belongs 
to  the  reigns  of  Charles  IV.  and  Ferdinand  VII., 
that  of  Goya,  a  painter  possessed  of  striking  orig- 
inality and  imagination,  together  with  great  power 
and  distinction.  Goya  made  his  chief  reputation 
as  a  painter  of  low  life,  and  was  especially  suc- 
cessful In  rendering  bull  fights  and  such  festas. 
But  he  Is  mentioned  here  chiefly  by  reason  of 
the  gallery  of  portraits  left  by  him  of  the  courts 
of  Charles  and  Ferdinand.  Many  times  he 
painted  the  heavy  face  and  form  of  the  bour- 
geois Charles  and  the  vixenish  features  of  his  ter- 
magant Queen;  and  once  at  least  he  executed  a 
large  canvas  showing   the   King  and  Queen  in  the 

190 


Marie  Louise.     Goya. 

Museo   del  Prado, .  Madrid. 

I  Irorii 


:i'- 


THE  BOURBONS 

centre  of  a  long  group,  fourteen  in  all,  called  the 
Family  of  Charles  IV.  There  are  also  a  dashing 
figure  of  Ferdinand  on  horseback,  and  a  coarse 
one  of  Godoy,  whose  fat  form  is  displayed  at 
length  upon  a  couch.  All  are  touched  with  the 
glamour  lent  by  really  great  art,  but  in  spite  of  it, 
all  look  stupid,  except  perhaps  the  Queen,  with 
whom,  however,  stupidity  gives  place  to  qualities 
far   more  unpleasant. 

Ferdinand  VII.  was  married  four  times,  but  he 
had  no  children  except  the  two  daughters  borne 
by  his  fourth  wife,  Marie  Christine  of  Naples. 
The  eldest,  Isabella,  was  three  years  of  age  at 
the  death  of  her  father,  and  her  succession  was 
at  once  disputed  by  her  uncle,  Don  Carlos.  As 
to  the  justice  of  his  claim,  Spain  is  still  divided. 
The  early  laws  of  Castile  recognized  the  right 
of  female  succession,  otherwise  there  w^ould  have 
been  no  Isabella  I.  But  Philip  V.  had  caused 
a  law  to  be  passed,  similar  to  the  Salic  law  of 
France,  limiting  the  succession  to  the  m^le  line. 
Under  Charles  IV.  this  measure  had  been  par- 
tially abrogated,  but  the  abrogation  had  never  been 
legalized.  Ferdinand  VII.  had  completed  its 
legalization,  but  had  afterward  annulled  his 
action.  With  such  a  tortuous  history  the  question 
of  the  legitimacy  of  Isabella's  succession  must 
ever  remain  a  doubtful  one.  But  It  is  to  be 
hoped,    that     after    convulsing    Spain    at    intervals 

191 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

for  half  a  century,  the  struggle  to  place  Don 
Carlos  or  his  son  upon  the  throne  has  finally 
worn  Itself  out,  and  will  furnish  no  further  cause 
for  bloodshed. 

The  early  years  of  the  reign  of  Isabella  II. 
( 1 846-1 868)  were  passed  under  the  regency  of 
her  mother,  Marie  Christine,  a  woman  of  little 
ability  and  no  personal  dignity:  and  It  was  from 
both  parents  that  Isabella  Inherited  traits  which 
finally  rendered  her  conduct  a  public  scandal  and 
drove  her  from  Spain.  As  a  child,  owing  to  an 
open  and  generous  nature,  Isabella  was  extremely 
popular,  but  she  became  Queen  at  the  age  of 
thirteen,  and,  surrounded  by  the  Intrigues  of  the 
vile  court,  of  which  her  unprincipled  mother  was 
the   chief   figure,    she   was    soon   utterly   perverted. 

The  almost  criminal  marriage  Into  which  Isa- 
bella was  hurried  was  sufficient  In  Itself  to  ruin 
her.  Both  physically  and  mentally  a  degenerate, 
Don  Francisco  de'  Assis  was  doubly  Isabella's 
cousin;  his  father  being  the  third  son  of  the 
Queen,  Marie  Louise  (by  either  Charles  IV.  or 
Godoy),  while  his  mother  was  the  sister  of  Isa- 
bella's mother,  Marie  Christine.  At  the  time, 
agents  from  both  England  and  France  were  in- 
triguing for  the  alliance,  and  the  jealousy  of  Eng- 
land prevented  what  would  have  been  a  far 
better  match  for  the  young  Queen,  namely,  that 
with   the    Due   de   Montpensler,    the    youngest   son 

192 


THE   BOURBONS 

of  Louis  Philippe.  The  marriage  with  Don 
Francisco  de'  Assis  was  hastily  arranged  by  Marie 
Christine  simply  as  a  display  of  her  power  (a 
silly  cleverness)  to  outwit  the  diplomacy  of  both 
England  and  France.  Then  the  Due  de  Mont- 
pensier,  who  was  a  man  of  ability  and  a  gentle- 
man, was  at  once  married  to  Isabella's  sister, 
Fernanda. 

The  story  of  Isabella's  reign  presents  little  more 
than  a  succession  of  court  Intrigues  with  trivial 
attempts  at  government.  The  young  Queen  had 
moments  of  cleverness,  but  no  sustained  ability, 
and  her  career,  both  public  and  private,  was  so 
turbulent  and  corrupt  that  the  last  shred  of  Span- 
ish reverence  for  her  office  broke  down  under  It, 
and  she  was  finally  driven  from  Spain  in  1868. 
She   died   in    Paris   In    1904. 

Following  Isabella's  banishment,  a  provisional 
government  was  formed  (to  rule  until  a  perma- 
nent one  could  be  evolved)  whose  chief  figure 
was  one  of  the  heroes  of  Spanish  history,  Prim. 
But  Spain  was  already  distraught  by  factions, 
and  the  eve  of  the  arrival  of  the  Duke  of  Aosta, 
the  second  son  of  Victor  Emmanuel,  who  had 
been  Invited  to  ascend  the  vacant  throne  of 
Spain,  saw  the  assassination  of  Prim  at  the  hands 
of  the  opposition   who  preferred  a  democracy. 

In  1870,  the  Duke  of  Aosta  became  King  of 
Spain    as    Amadeo    I.      But,    after    two    years    of 

193 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

honest  effort  to  rule  Spain,  he  voluntarily  re- 
linquished the  task  as  too  hard  for  him.  He  was 
a  gentleman,  and  would  doubtleiss  have  made  a 
wise  ruler,  but  he  had  no  Spanish  blood,  as  had 
Philip  v.,  and  the  Spaniards  found  him  cold. 
Moreover  they  were  not  accustomed  to  honest 
rulers.  Both  Amadeo  and  his  Queen  became  so 
unpopular  that  they  were  frequently  treated  with 
public  rudeness,  and  they  were  doubtless  thank- 
ful to  get  out  of  the  country  alive. 

The  short  reign  of  Amadeo  was  followed  by 
an  equally  short  republic,  which  likewise  proved 
unsatisfactory  to  the  distracted  Spaniards,  and,  In 
1874,  the  son  of  Isabella  11.  was  proclaimed  kiiig 
as  Alfonso  XII. 

Alfonso  XII.  (i 874-1 886)  had  been  early  sep- 
arated from  his  mother  and  educated  In  England. 
At  the  time  of  his  proclamation  he  was  a  cadet, 
aged  seventeen,  at  Sandhurst.  He  was  considered 
handsome  and  was  gifted  with  his  mother's  ready 
sympathy  and  tact.  If  we  may  judge  from  his 
face,  Alfonso  XII.  was  possessed  of  a  genial, 
kindly  nature,  and  had  he  lived,  it  is  possible  he 
might  have  developed  Into  an  able  ruler.  He 
was  at  least  honest  and  sincere,  and  retained 
great  popularity  until  his  death. 

Alfonso's  first  marriage  with  his  cousin  Mer- 
cedes, the  daughter  of  Fernanda  and  the  Due  de 
Montpensler,  has  been  surrounded  with  much  ro- 

194 


Palacio  San  Tehno,  Seville, 

Main  Entrance 
(Charrlgueresque  Ornament.) 


an 


THE   BOURBONS 

mance,  and  doubtless  it  was  a  love  match.  In 
it  we  see  another  effort  of  France  to  secure  the 
succession  to  the  Spanish  throne  to  a  descendant 
of  Louis  Philippe,  which  was  again  brought  to 
naught  by  the  early  death  of  the  young  Queen. 

A  second  marriage  made  Maria  Christina  of 
Austria,  Queen  of  Spain,  and  after  the  death  of 
Alfonso,  In  1886,  she  became  Regent  for  her 
son,  who  in  1902  ascended  the  throne  as  Al- 
fonso XIII. 

Alfonso  XIIL,  although  so  young,  has  already 
displayed  to  an  unusual  degree  the  kingly  qualities 
of  dignity  and  courage,  together  with  the  more 
useful  traits  (to  his  country)  of  energy  and  enter- 
prise. His  marriage,  in  1906,  to  the  English 
Princess,  Ena  of  Battenberg,  who  then  became 
Queen  Victoria  of  Spain,  has  already  (1909)  been 
blessed  by  the  birth  of  two   sons. 

In  the  early  architecture  of  this  period,  the 
coarseness  of  the  Baroque  style  ended  In  an  excess 
of  tawdry  ornament,  which  took  the  name  of  the 
architect,  Churrlguerra,  who  flourished  under  the 
early  Bourbon  kings,  and  who  largely  employed 
it.  Churrlgueresque  ornament,  much  of  It  ex- 
ecuted In  lath  and  plaster,  was  spread  over 
earlier  Renaissance  construction;  and  even  occa- 
sionally replaced  the  more  delicate  Plateresque  or 
Gothic  decoration.     It  is  a  hideous  nightmare  of 

195 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

art,  and  the  last  example  of  the  excess  to  which 
all  styles  were  carried  In  Spain. 

As  might  be  expected,  the  Bourbon  kings  early 
made  an  effort  to  introduce  Into  Spain,  along 
with  French  methods  of  finance  and  French  sani- 
tation, French  styles  and  methods  of  building. 
These  efforts  were  largely  expended  in  Madrid, 
with  the  result  that  the  Spanish  capital,  then  a 
comparatively  new  city,  is  more  French  than 
Spanish.  Strenuous  efforts  were  also  made  to 
revive  earlier  industries  and  introduce  new  ones, 
but  after  two  hundred  years  of  endeavour,  Spain 
IS  still  not  a  manufacturing  country.  Even  the 
fans  which  have  long  been  the  most  distinctive 
and  universal  article  of  feminine  adornment  in 
the  peninsula,  arc  almost  entirely  Imported  from 
France  or  Japan.  As  all  other  manufactures  are 
likewise  produced  elsewhere,  there  is  no  portion 
of  Europe  in  which  industrial  products  are  so 
scarce  and  expensive. 

Some  recent  attempts  have  been  made  to  revive 
Spanish  industry,  and  under  her  spirited  young 
King  it  is  hoped  that  a  brighter  future  is  open- 
ing up  for  the  peninsula.  The  recent  action  of  the 
Spanish  government  looking  to  the  encouragement 
of  tourist  travel,  is  not  only  a  most  sagacious 
move,  but  indicates  a  modern  policy  based  upon 
business  principles  which  must  bear  fruit  in  other 
directions   as  well. 

196 


m 


I 


Toledo. 

View  from    Southeast. 


Chapter  X 
TOLEDO 

EVERYTHING  about  Toledo  deals  in  super- 
latives. Its  boldness  of  situation,  Its  sombre 
and  monotonous  colour,  Its  magnificence  of 
historic  monuments,  itsi  atmosphere  of  tragic 
grandeur,  and,  above  all.  Its  loftiness  of  spirit,  are 
the  supreme  expression  of  those  qualities  in  the 
peninsula.  If  we  listen  to  the  voice  of  legend, 
even  the  antiquity  of  Toledo  is  superlative:  and 
In  the  pride  which  vaunts  its  length  of  years  and 
splendour  of  mediaeval  association,  Is  betrayed  the 
temper  of  what  Is  the  most  Spanish  city  of  Spain. 
Here  as  elsewhere  are  found  legends  of  Her- 
cules, Atlas,  Osiris,  and  other  visiting  deities, 
who  are  claimed  to  have  founded  every  city  of 
Importance  in  the  peninsula.  But  so  exaggerated 
are  the  Toledan  fables  that  a  witty  churchman 
has  gravely  chronicled  how  the'  newly  created 
sun  first  rose  directly  over  Toledo,  apparently  an 
earlier  creation,  and  that  Adam,  first  man,  be- 
came her  first  king.  Notwithstanding  that  this 
biting  satire  was  strongly  resented  by  Toledans, 
Spanish  historians  even  down  to  the  fifteenth  cen- 
tury continued  to  accept  and  transcribe  the  pre- 
posterous and  boastful  fables  of  earlier  chronicles. 

197 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

A  thirteenth  century  writer  asserts  that  Tubal, 
the  grandson  of  Noah,  migrated  to  Spain  after 
the  flood;  that  his  descendants  peopled  the  penin- 
sula; and  that  Tubal  himself  founded  Toledo, 
whose  name,  it  is  claimed,  is  a  corruption  of  Tu- 
balia.  Another  historian,  who  flourished  as  late 
as  the  fifteenth  century,  tells  of  the  coming  to 
Toledo  of  Pyrrhus,  a  captain  of  Cyrus;  and 
Iberia,  the  wife  of  Pyrrhus,  is  said  to  have  been 
a  daughter  of  King  Hispan,  a  legendary  founder 
of  Spain  itself. 

We  are  told  that  Pyrrhus  found  Toledo  al- 
ready a  thriving  and  beautiful  city,  a  statement 
somewhat  confusing  if  one  accepts  the  remainder 
of  the  tale.  A  less  improbable  fable  tells  of  a 
colony  of  Jews  who  came  to  Toledo  after  the 
sack  of  Jerusalem  by  Nebuchadnezzar.  The  Jews 
fled  to  Tarshish,  says  the  Bible,  and  Tarshish  is 
the  scripture  name  for  Spain.  Furthermore,  To- 
ledoth,  the  Hebrew  for  city  of  generations,  may 
easily  be  corrupted  into  Toledo;  and  Toledo  has 
always   had   a   large   Jewish   population. 

These  and  many  other  tales  of  Toledo's  length 
of  years  indicate  an  antiquity  whose  foundation 
of  fact  no  student  of  history  may  reasonably 
doubt:  and  it  is  equally  probable  that  the  legends 
of  fabulous  heroes  dimly  record  those  invasions 
of  alien  peoples  which  have  ruled  Spain  from 
very   early   times.      But,    although    it    may  be    al- 

198 


TOLEDO 

lowed  that  her  alien  conquerors  gave  her  a  name, 
Toledo  was  undoubtedly  founded  long  before  their 
coming.  The  little  group  of  rocky  hills  almost 
surrounded  by  the  Tagus  presented  an  unassail- 
able place  of  refuge,  and  the  broad  and  fertile 
vega  beyond  afforded  a  rich  pasturage  for  flocks; 
advantages  which  could  not  have  remained  long 
unappropriated  even  by  the  most  primitive  in- 
telligence. 

Natural  conditions,  therefore,  render  it  most 
probable  that  the  site  of  Toledo  was  occupied 
long  before  the  beginning  of  history  by  a  settle- 
ment of  Iberian  shepherds,  of  which  supposition, 
corroborating  evidence  of  the  most  convincing 
character  Is  found  In  the  preservation  within  her 
walls,  all  through  her  history,  of  a  marked  degree 
of  the  Iberian  spirit.  If  elsewhere  In  Spain  the 
native  Iberic  stock  has  preserved  Its  aboriginal 
type  and  primal  traits,  in  Toledo  is  found  their 
most  striking  survival.  Protected  by  the  encir- 
cling river  and  the  precipitous  sides  of  her  seven 
hills,  the  early  Toledans  nourished  and  developed 
their  Iberian  pride  into  a  spirit  of  fierce  Inde- 
pendence which  has  always  rendered  her  the  most 
indomitable  city  In  Spain. 

Together  with  the  rest  of  the  peninsula,  Toledo 
submitted  to  successive  periods  of  alien  rule;  and, 
owing  to  the  fact  that  her  importance  as  its 
chief    city   began,    and     to    a    certain    degree    was 

199 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

ended,  with  the  Gothic  period,  Toledo  has  long 
been  called,  The  Gothic  City  of  Spain.  But  her 
temper  has  always  been  that  of  the  tribal  aloof- 
ness of  the  Iberians,  rather  than  of  the  dominating 
arrogance  of  Gothic  blood.  Never  betrayed  in 
her  early  days  into  a  desire  for  conquest  of  more 
than  the  surrounding  vega,  or  into  a  sympathetic 
alHance  with  her  often  hard-pressed  fellow- 
countrymen,  still  less  in  her  later  years  did  she 
yield  to  a  vital  union  with  thd  various  alien 
peoples  who  conquered  and  claimed  to  rule  her. 
Neither  Carthage  nor  Rome  was  able  completely 
to  subjugate  the  proud  little  city  on  her  rocky 
heights,  and  later  rulers  won  a  grudging  submis- 
sion from  Toledo  only  while  administering  to  her 
greatness  or  yielding  to  her  sway. 

The  authentic  history  of  Toledo  does  not  be- 
gin until  its  discovery  by  the  Carthaginians. 
They  found  it  one  of  the  chief  towns  of  the 
Carpetanians,  a  group  of  Iberic  tribes  with  whom 
they  entered  into  a  half  friendly  alliance.  It  is 
doubtful  if  we  may  give  full  credence  to  a  Moorish 
tale  of  the  treachery  of  the  Carthaginian  general, 
Hasdrubal,  with  the  consequent  revolt  of  the 
Carpetanians;  but  it  appears  that  Hannibal,  in  a 
campaign  dating  about  220  B.  C,  met  with  a 
degree  of  success  in  subjugating  the  half-wild 
tribes,  and  that  for  a  time  the  Carpetanians  were, 
nominally  at  least,  under  Carthaginian  rule. 

200 


TOLEDO 

But  Toledo  and  the  Carpetanlans  were  much 
too  far  Inland  to  possess  a  great  amount  of  im- 
portance for  the  early  invaders.  The  strongholds 
of  the  latter  were  largely  on  the  seacoasts,  and 
they  held  very  lightly  the  territory  conquered  dur- 
ing occasional  forays  Into  the  interior.  Accord- 
ing to  a  palpably  exaggerated  account,  Hannibal 
IS  said  to  have  defeated  one  hundred  thousand 
barbarians  on  the  banks  of  the  Tagus,  but  after 
his  victory,  Toledo  was  most  probably  left  with 
a  Carthaginian  governor,  and  a  gradually  lessen- 
ing guard,  while  life  doubtless  went  on  much  as 
before.  Then,  as  the  Carthaginian  power  In  the 
peninsula  declined  and  fell  away,  even  her  nom- 
inal rule  was   forgotten. 

Roman  armies  commanded  a  large  part  of  the 
peninsula  as  early  as  210  B.  C,  but  It  was  not 
until  191  B.  C.  that  a  Roman  general  stood  be- 
fore the  little  city  on  the  Tagus  and  In  the  name 
of  a  new  conqueror  demanded  submission.  Then 
the  Toledans,  Instead  of  defying  these  new  foes 
from  their  Impregnable  heights,  went  down  to  fight 
in  the  valley,  and  with  their  defeat  Toledo 
was  claimed  as  a  possession  of  Rome.  But  even 
under  Rome,  Toledo  failed  to  attain  a  great  Im- 
portance. Pliny  calls  It  the  metropolis  of  Carpe- 
tanla,  and  it  is  certain  that  walls  and  an  aqueduct 
were  built.  Furthermore,  there  are  accounts  of 
a   Circus  Maximus,  an  amphitheatre,  and  temples, 

201 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

one  of  which,  a  temple  of  Hercules,  was  situated 
in  the  vega  beyond  the  Tagus,  and  was  two  hun- 
dred feet  in  width  by  three  hundred  in  length. 
Yet  the  rank  of  the  town  seems  never  to  have 
exceeded  those  of  many  others  of  the  inland 
stations  along  the  Roman  roads,  which,  early  in 
the  Roman  period,  began  to  cross  and  recross  the 
peninsula.  Of  Roman  remains  to-day,  Toledo  can 
show  nothing  to  compare  with  those  of  the  more 
notable  cities  of  the  empire  along  the  eastern  sea- 
board. Tarragona  and  the  ruins  of  Saguntum  are 
still  distinctly  Roman  in  physiognomy,  but  at  To- 
ledo there  are  only  the  foundations  of  a  few 
walls  and  bridges,  with  scattered  stones  dug  up 
from  time  to  time  under  her  streets  or  in  the 
vega. 

Toledan  history  of  the  Roman  period  is  nearly 
as  meagre  as  the  more  tangible  witness  of  stone 
and  cement,  unless  we  accept  the  legends  of  the 
early  Spanish  saints,  which,  together  with  a  large 
amount  of  fiction,  undoubtedly  preserved  a  modi- 
cum of  fact.  Through  them  we  learn  that  To- 
ledo was  one  of  the  first  cities  in  Spain  to  em- 
brace Christianity;  that  St.  James  and  St.  Peter 
both  visited  her,  and  possibly  also  St.  Paul,  the 
latter  preaching   and  creating  bishops. 

Of  the  bishops  of  Toledo,  Eugenius  was  the 
first.  His  legend  narrates  that,  after  becoming 
Bishop  of  Toledo,   he  was  moved  to   pay  a   visit 

202 


TOLEDO 

to  St.  Denis  in  France,  and  that  while  there  he 
suffered  martyrdom  together  with  St.  Denis  and 
another  apostle.  The  bodies  of  the  three  were 
thrown  into  a  lake,  but  are  said  to  have  been 
afterwards  recovered,  and  the  return  of  the  relics 
of  St.  Eugenlus,  first  of  his  arm.  In  the  twelfth 
century,  and  of  the  remainder  of  his  body,  in  the 
sixteenth,  occasioned  many  reciprocal  courtesies 
between  France   and  Spain. 

Eugenlus  was  one  of  the  earliest  Spanish  saints, 
but  Leocadia,  who  Is  believed  to  have  suffered  un- 
der Daclan,  the  governor  of  Spain  under  the 
emperors  Diocletian  and  Maximlan,  is  the  real 
patron  saint  of  Toledo.  She  was  first  ven- 
erated In  the  seventh  century;  her  legend, 
therefore,  was  a  production  of  the  Gothic  period, 
but  no  devout  Toledan  has  ever  doubted  the  story 
of  her  early  martyrdom. 

Of  more  Importance  than  her  martyrs  were  the 
churchmen  who  early  laid  the  foundation  for  the 
hieratic  power  which,  though  all  her  succeeding 
history,  was  to  be  the  chief  source  of  Toledo's 
glory.  So-called  portraits  of  ten  bishops  of  To- 
ledo, during  the  Roman  period,  now  adorn  the 
Sala  Capitular  of  her  cathedral;  and  the  third 
Council  of  the  Spanish  church  was  held  In  Toledo 
in  the  year  400.  Nineteen  bishops  and  an  equal 
number  of  inferior  ecclesiastics  were  in  attendance, 
and  the  first  act  of  the  assembled  council  was  to 

203 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

indorse  the  articles  of  faith  earlier  adopted  at  the 
council  of  Nicea.  Thus  the  great  Catholic  doc- 
trine of  the  equality  of  the  Trinity  was  early  In- 
corporated Into  the  creed  of  the  Spanish  church. 
Most  curious  evidence  of  the  unlimited  jurisdic- 
tion claimed  by  the  early  fathers  Is  found  In  the 
decrees  of  this  Council,  which  excommunicated 
vegetarians,  mathematicians,  and  those  who  exe- 
crated marriage. 

With  the  passing  of  the  Roman  empire  In 
Spain,  comes  a  brief  period  when  Toledo  regained 
her  early  Independence.  Protected  by  her  strong 
position  and  Roman  wall,  she  successfully  resisted 
the  first  onslaughts  of  the  barbarians;  and  the 
SuevI,  the  Alans,  and  the  Vandals,  who  early 
divided  up  the  peninsula  between  them,  failed  to 
conquer  the  staunch  little  town  which  lay  at  the 
juncture  of  their  three  kingdoms.  By  the  begin- 
ning of  the  fifth  century  the  Visigoths  had  be- 
come the  dominant  power  In  Spain,  but  not  until 
467  did  Toledo  yield  to  their  powers.  Then  the 
Gothic  king,  Euric,  besieged  and  took  the  city, 
and  this  time  Toledo  was  destined  to  gain,  with 
her  rulers,  an  Importance  which  she  has  never 
entirely  lost. 

The  period  of  disorganization  and  barbarian  in- 
vasion had  wrought  ruin  in  every  part  of  the 
peninsula,    and    the    Toledo    of    which    Euric    took 

204 


TOLEDO 

possession  could  have  been  little  better  than  a 
rude  mountain  fastness,  its  Roman  monuments 
worn  and  defaced,  and  its  walls-  battered  by  long 
warfare.  This  grim  stronghold  the  Visigoths 
turned  into  a  half-barbarian  camp,  and,  during 
the  hundred  years  that  elapsed  before  it  became 
the  chief  seat  of  Gothic  power,  there  is  nothing 
to  indicate  more  than  the  bare  preservation  of 
what  had  been  found. 

As  under  Rome,  so  now  under  the  early  Visi- 
goths, the  chief  importance  of  Toledo  lay  in  the 
supremacy  of  her  church;  a  dignity  which  the 
Spanish  clergy  had  managed  to  preserve.  Their 
early  resistance  of  Roman  efforts  to  Latinize 
their  ritual  was  to  be  continued  for  hundreds  of 
years,  and  their  independence  laid  the  foundation 
for  the  hieratic  supremacy  which  has  proved  To- 
ledo's most  enduring  dignity.  The  power  and 
state  early  maintained  by  her  bishops  was  scarcely 
second  to  that  of  the  king  himself.  When,  there- 
fore, Toledo  was  made  the  capital  of  the  Visi- 
gothic  kingdom,  she  became  doubly  the  chief  city 
of  the  peninsula,  both  Its  civil  and  ecclesiastical 
head.  But  along  with  her  new  dignity  came  the 
necessity  of  setting  up  a  new  court,  which  not  only 
must  divide  the  honours  with  that  of  the  ecclesias- 
tical dignitaries,  but,  through  difference  of  faith, 
must  speedily  become  antagonistic  to  it. 

According     to     tradition,     Athanaglld     built     a 

205 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

churcH  on  the  site  of  the  chapel  now  known  as 
Cristo  de  la  Luz.  Some  rudely  cut  capitals  still 
preserved  In  this  tiny  church  are  thought  to  be- 
long to  the  original  work  of  Athanagild,  and, 
strange  to  say,  this  chapel  of  Athanagild  is  the 
earliest  church  In  Toledo  of  which  we  have  any 
reliable  or  definite  knowledge;  while  Information 
regarding  the  early  residence  of  the  Gothic  kings 
is   almost   as   scanty   and   much   confused. 

Pisa  tells  us  of  four  Alcazars,  or  royal  palaces, 
of  which  the  earliest  was  on  the  site  now  occupied 
by  the  Hospital  of  Sta.  Cruz  and  the  Plaza  de  la 
Concepclon.  Here,  under  the  shadow  of  the  high- 
est of  Toledo's  seven  hills,  then,  as  now,  crowned 
by  its  citadel,  the  Goths  are  believed  to  have 
found  the  Roman  Praetorlum  which  they  at  once 
appropriated  as  their  official  residence.  It  was 
doubtless  first  used  by  the  local  governors,  and 
later,  when  the  court  was  removed  to  Toledo,  by 
the  kings  themselves.  There  is  mention  of  a  wall 
connecting  this  palace  with  the  citadel  above, 
which  probably  enclosed  both  within  the  same 
fortification.  Thus  the  royal  residence  was  pro- 
tected, and  both  palace  and  citadel  dominated  the 
town  and  vega. 

It  was  doubtless  in  this  palace  that  Athanagild 
first  set  up  a  VIsIgothIc  court  In  Toledo,  and  here, 
for  the  time,  were  held  those  military  elections 
which  were   the   last  evidence   of  VIsIgothIc  inde- 

ao6 


TOLEDO 

pendence.  Here,  after  the  death  of  his  Greek 
wife,  Theodosia,  Leovlglld  brought  the  widowed 
Gosvinda  to  be  for  a  second  time  .the  Queen  of 
Spain,  and  here  as  a  result  of  her  step-motherly 
activities,^  was  opened  up  that  domestic  drama 
which  gave  another  saint  to  the  Roman  calendar.^ 
We  are  told  that  after  his  conversion  Re- 
eared  at  once  began  the  restoration  of  lands  and 
honours,  earlier  confiscated  from  the  church  by  his 
father,  and  that  he  also  endowed  many  churches 
and  monasteries  with  royal  magnificence.  A  con- 
secration stone,  discovered  in  1591  in  the  cloister 
of  the  cathsdral  at  Toledo,  Informs  us  that  a 
church  on  that  site  was  dedicated  to  Santa  Maria 
by  Recared  as  early  as  587,  two  years  before  his 
public  announcement  of  his  conversion.  It  is 
assumed  by  some  authorities  that  this  church  of 
Recared  was  a  rebuilding  of  what  was  already 
recognized  as  the  cathedral  church  of  Toledo;  and 
that  it  was  upon  this  site  that  her  first  bishop, 
Eugenius,  had  set  up  his  throne.  This  assumption 
Is  founded  purely  upon  tradition,  but  In  such  a 
case  tradition  counts  for  much:  and.  If  we  may 
judge  by  what  almost  Invariably  happened  else- 
where. It  Is  not  only  probable  that  Recared's 
church  covered  the  location  of  the  first  archiepls- 
copal  seat  In  Toledo,  but  that  the  latter  re-used 
or  replaced  the  chief  earlier  pagan  temple  of  the 

1  See  chapter  on  Vislgothic  history,  page  32.  2  Errainigild. 

207 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

city.  In  the  absence  of  data,  however,  all  Is  sup- 
position until  the  consecration  stone  of  Recared, 
and  even  then  there  is  nothing  else  to  indicate 
the  extent  or  style  of  the  structure.  That  it  was 
rude  and  primitive  goes  without  saying.  If 
Roman  walls  remained  standing  the  enclosure  was 
doubtless  small,  and  Visigothic  additions  or  re- 
building must  have  been  rough  and  simple,  with 
possibly  a  little  rudely  cut  ornament. 

Along  with  the  primitive  cathedral,  there  had 
existed  another  important  early  church  down  In 
the  vega.  According  to  some  authorities  the  site 
had  been  originally  occupied  by  a  Prgetorlan  tem- 
ple. But  it  Is  also  said  to  have  been  the  place 
of  Sta.  Leocadia's  martyrdom,  and  early  covered 
by  a  Roman  basilica  dedicated  to  her.  As  Sta. 
Leocadia  was  not  venerated  until  633,  the  pre- 
Gothic  dedication  to  her  must  be  dismissed  as  an 
error,  but  the  early  Importance  of  this  church  in 
the  vega  Is  attested  by  Its  use  for  the  assemblage 
of  a  number  of  the  early  Toledan  councils.  Its 
rebuilding,  therefore,  followed  very  naturally  that 
of  the  cathedral  up  In  the  town. 

The  work  was  undertaken  by  King  Sislbert 
(612-621)  about  620,  and  glowing  descriptions 
of  his  church  when  completed  Indicate,  not  only 
that  It  far  exceeded  in  magnificence  the  earlier 
work  of  Recared,  but  that  It  was  considered  the 
first   church   In   the   peninsula.     To   counterbalance 

298 


TOLEDO 

the  archleplscopal  rank  of  the  cathedral,  this  was 
made  a  praetoriensis  church,  that  is,  it  had  royal 
privileges.  The  first  famous  Council  held  in  To- 
ledo after  its  rebuilding  was  convened  in  this 
church  of  SIsIbert,  and  its  chief  business  appears 
to  have  been  the  canonization  of  Sta.  Leocadla. 
This  Council  took  place  in  633,  and  the  dedica- 
tion of  the  church  to  her  doubtless  dates  from 
that  occasion.  At  that  time,  also,  the  tomb  of 
Sta.  Leocadla  was  set  up  within  Its  walls  upon 
the  traditional  spot  of  her  martyrdom,  and  there 
It  soon  came  to  be  not  only  the  chief  shrine  In 
this,  her  church,  but  also  the  most  important 
point   for  pilgrimage  in   that  part  of  Spain. 

But  the  event  of  the  greatest  Importance  In  the 
church  of  Sta  Leocadla  was  the  appearance  of  the 
saint  herself  to  the  almost  royal  Bishop,  Ildefonso, 
who  somewhat  more  than  divided  the  honors  of 
the  reign  of  Recesvlnthus  (649-672)  with  that 
monarch.  Ildefonso's  great  fame  was  founded 
upon  his  defense  of  the  perpetual  Virginity  of 
the  mother  of  Our  Lord,  a  work  rendered  neces- 
sary by  the  growing  scepticism  of  the  times;  and 
his  notable  triumph  was  deemed  worthy  of  a 
grand  celebration.  A  splendid  mass  was  ordered 
by  the  King,  who,  possibly  wearing  the  crown 
bearing  his  name,  now  a  curiosity  In  the  Cluny 
Museum,  marched  with  his  Bishop  at  the  head  of 
a    great    procession    formed    by    the    entire    court, 

209 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

to  the  church  of  Sta.  Leocadia  down  in  the 
vega. 

There  the  King  and  Ildefonso  knelt  side  by  side, 
when,  suddenly,  a  miracle  occurred.  Clouds  and 
sweet  scents  arose  from  the  shrine,  and  amidst  a 
group  of  angels  Sta.  Leocadia  was  disclosed  smil- 
ing graciously  upon  the  astonished  Archbishop. 
She  extended  her  hands  in  sign  of  benediction,  pro- 
nouncing the  words,  ''^  Ildephonse  p.er  te  vivat 
domina  meaJ*  The  vision  began  to  fade,  and,  as 
the  saint  vanished,  Ildefonso,  Impulsively  reaching 
forward,  grasped  a  floating  end  of  her  veil.  The 
King  quickly  passed  him  his  dagger,  and  the 
Bishop  cut  off  a  piece  which  was  left  in  his 
hand. 

Excitement  ran  high  as  the  report  of  the  vision 
of  Sta.  Leocadia  spread  from  the  mouths  of  those 
who  saw  It  to  the  ears  of  those  who  did  not.  But 
scarcely  had  the  first  wonder  at  that  marvel  sub- 
sided when  an  even  greater  honour  came  to  the 
now  famous  Archbishop.  This  last  marvel  thrilled 
the  entire  peninsula,  and  news  of  it  penetrated 
even  to  Rome.  Nine  days  after  the  miraculous 
mass  down  in  the  vega,  the  Virgin  appeared  in 
person  to  thank  and  bless  her  zealous  defender. 
There  are  two  legends  of  this  vision  vouchsafed 
to  Ildefonso  by  the  Mother  of  Our  Lord,  both 
of  which  relate  its  occurrence  In  the  cathedral  up 
in   the   town,   and   in   both   of  which   the   miracle 

210 


TOLEDO 

appears  to  have  been  seen  by  the  Bishop  alone. 
In  one  the  Virgin  Is  said  to  have  attended  matins, 
sitting  in  the  Bishop's  seat  while  he  recited  the 
office  at  the  altar.  In  the  other  we  are  told  that 
Ildefonso,  upon  his  entry  Into  the  cathedral  in 
the  morning,  discovered  on  the  wall  a  light  like 
a  flame  which,  when  he  approached  nearer,  proved 
to  be  the  radiance  surrounding  the  Virgin  who 
was  seated  upon  his  throne.  The  Bishop  in  an 
ecstasy  fell  prostrate,  while  around  him  was  the 
sound  of  heavenly  music  and  the  smell  of  sweet 
odours.  After  addressing  a  few  words  to  the  ador- 
ing Ildefonso,  the  Virgin  placed  upon  his  shoulders 
a  splendid  chasuble,  brought  from  heaven,  which 
had  been  wrought  by  the  hands  of  angels.  The 
vision  faded,  and  Ildefonso  was  found  fainting 
upon  the  ground,  his  lips  pressing  the  stone  in 
which  his  heavenly  visitor  had  left  the  print  of 
her  foot,  and  with  the  miraculous  chasuble  still 
upon  his  shoulders. 

Even  the  Pope  took  especial  cognizance  of  this 
miracle,  and,  it  is  said,  "because  of  it  the  church 
at  Toledo  was  given  precedence  of  all  others  in 
Spain."  After  Ildefonso's  death,  which  occurred 
within  a  few  months  of  this  heavenly  visitation, 
his  body  was  entombed  In  the  church  of  Sta.  Leo- 
cadla,  where  his  shrine  soon  rivalled  hers  in  pop- 
ularity, and,  as  a  point  for  pious  pilgrimage, 
added   greatly   to   the    Importance   of  the   church. 

211 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

The  heavenly  chasuble,  with  the  piece  of  Sta. 
Leocadla's  veil  and  the  royal  dagger  which  sev- 
ered It,  was  placed  among  the  treasures  of  the 
cathedral;  and  by  the  faithful,  the  chasuble,  at 
least,  Is  thought  to  have  been  among  the  relics 
carried  north  to  Oviedo  to  save  them  from  Infidel 
confiscation,  at  the  time  of  the  Moorish  conquest. 
At  that  time  the  church  of  Sta.  Leocadia  was  des- 
ecrated and  partially  if  not  entirely  destroyed, 
and,  either  then  or  later,  the  bodies  of  both  saints 
were  lost.  That  of  St.  Ildefonso  Is  claimed  to 
have  been  recovered  by  means  of  a  miracle  In  the 
thirteenth  century,  when  it  was  entombed  In  the 
cathedral,  and  in  the  sixteenth,  what  were  claimed 
to  be  the  relics  of  Sta.  Leocadia,  after  being  dis- 
covered In  Flanders,  were  purchased  for  the  sum 
of  one  thousand  ducats  and  returned  amidst  great 
rejoicing  and  imposing  ceremonials  to  her  church 
In  the  vega,  which  by  this  time  had  been  rebuilt, 
and  had  even  received  a  new  name — that  of 
Cristo  de  la  Vega.  The  tomb  of  Sta.  Leocadia 
still  occupies  the  centre  of  this  church,  and  an  ex- 
quisite statue  of  the  saint,  carved  by  Berruguete 
In  the  sixteenth  century  for  a  niche  In  the  Puerta 
del  Cambon,  is  now  placed  over  its  main  en- 
trance. The  earliest  portion  of  the  church  of 
Cristo  de  la  Vega  left  to-day,  is  Moresque  In  Its 
workmanship  and  details,  and  Is  thought  to  be  not 
earlier   than   the   twelfth   century. 

212 


TOLEDO 

The  Archbishop  Julian  tells  us  that  Wamba 
was  anointed  King  in  the  church  of  St.  Peter  and 
St.  Paul,  near  the  royal  palace.  This  palace  was 
still  the  old  Roman  Praetorium,  but  of  the  church 
we  know  nothing  except  its  name.  Of  the  anoint- 
ing, however,  there  are  further  particulars;  for  the 
Bishop  goes  on  to  relate  a  most  marvellous 
circumstance  —  how  "when  King  Wamba  was 
crowned  there  arose  from  his  head  a  cloud  in 
the  form  of  a  pillar,  and  a  bee  was  also  seen  to 
mount  on  high  from  his  head."  Even  Mariana's 
credulity  seems  to  have  been  tested  by  this  amaz- 
ing tale;  for  he  observes  by  way  of  defence,  "It 
may  be  said  that  people  often  imagine  or  fancy 
such  things,  but  the  authority  of  the  author, 
Archbishop  Julian,  Is  of  great  force." 

The  pillar  of  cloud  and  the  bee  were  to  be 
amply  justified  by  the  vigour  and  activity  of 
Wamba's  administration,  which  fairly  made  To- 
ledo's dry  bones  rattle.  Wamba  was  doubtless  a 
Vislgothic  noble,  else  he  would  never  have  been 
offered  the  crown;  but.  In  the  rapidity  of  his 
methods  and  the  amount  he  accomplished  during 
his  short  reign  of  eight  years,  he  is  neither  Visl- 
gothic nor  Spaniard,  but  a  modern  of  moderns. 
He  found  the  authority  of  his  office  scarcely  rec- 
ognized beyond  the  gates  of  his  rude  and  broken- 
down  capital,  but  within  two  years  the  entire  pen- 
insula was  reduced  to  order  and  submission,  and  a 

213 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

most  serious  rebellion  In  the  Gallic  provinces  had 
been  put  down.  Upon  Wamba's  return,  In  674, 
from  his  victorious  campaign  In  the  north,  he 
made  a  triumphant  entry  into  Toledo.  Before 
him  marched  a  train  of  captive  rebels,  their  heads 
shaved,  their  feet  bare,  and  clothed  in  garments 
of  goats'  or  camels'  hair.  The  procession  was  led 
by  the  treacherous  Greek  general.  Count  Paul, 
who  had  Instigated  the  revolt,  who,  besides  being 
shaven  and  barefoot,  wore,  in  mockery  of  his  at- 
tempt at  Independent  sovereignty,  a  leathern 
crown. 

With  peace  and  order  restored  throughout  his 
kingdom,  Wamba  at  once  took  up  the  work  of 
strengthening  and  beautifying  his  capital.  After 
his  glimpse  of  the  cities  of  Provenge,  he  was 
doubtless  struck  by  Its  rudeness,  and  with  char- 
acteristic energy.  Immediately  set  to  work  to  Im- 
prove It.  Only  six  years  of  his  short  reign  re- 
mained to  him,  but  during  that  time  a  new  wall 
and  a  new  palace  are  recorded,  the  most  consider- 
able building  operations  In  all  the  three  hundred 
years  of  VIsIgothic  rule.  Wamba's  wall,  although 
partially  the  rebuilding  of  an  earlier  Roman  one, 
still  bears  his  name,  and  still  forms  Toledo's  In- 
ner circle  of  defence.  What  are  called  the  foun- 
dations of  his  palace  are  found  to-day  near  the 
promenade  called  the  Miradero,  overlooking  from 
the    northeast    corner    of    the    city    the    vega    and 

214 


TOLEDO 

the  Tagus.  This  palace  was  close  to  Wamba's 
newly  built  wall,  and  not  far  from  the  earlier 
residence  of  the  VIsIgothIc  kings.  With  that 
palace  and  the  citadel,  it  completed  a  long  group 
of  buildings,  all  of  which  may  have  been  pro- 
tected by  the  old  Roman  wall,  some  of  whose 
ruins  have  been  discovered  under  the  Plaza  de 
Zocodover.  These  fortifications  not  only  placed 
the  entire  eastern  quarter  of  the  city  In  the  hands 
of  the  King,  but  more  closely  watched  Its  approach 
by  the  Tagus. 

Wamba's  wall,  and  probably  his  palace,  were 
built,  at  least  partially,  of  the  ruins  of  Roman 
structures  down  In  the  vega.  What  Is  supposed 
to  have  been  a  circus  supplied  much  material. 
We  are  told  that  many  stones  were  marble,  with 
figures  like  roses  or  wheels  carved  on  them.  Pisa 
says  that  "the  common  sort"  were  persuaded  that 
these  were  Wamba's  arms,  but  that  the  very 
stones  prove  to  the  contrary,  because  they  were 
laid  "  without  order  or  method,  but  just  as  they 
were  brought,  so  they  were  placed  by  the  work- 
men." The  walls  were  broken  at  Intervals  by 
towers,  probably  much  as  they  are  to-day,  and  the 
principal  towers  were  crowned  by  statues  of  those 
saints  held  In  greatest  veneration  by  the  town. 
These  were  of  white  marble,  but  unless  they  also 
were  Roman  relics  their  forms  were  doubtless  ex- 
tremely  crude.     Under  them   were   verses   In   the 

215 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

unpolished  Latin  used  in  that  age.    One  of  them 
read: 

*^  Vos  Domini  sancti,  quorum  hie  referentia  fulget, 
Hanc  urhem  plehem  solito,  ser  nate  faureJ* 

Most  of  Wamba's  Inscriptions  have  long  been 
effaced  or  replaced,  and  beyond  the  bare  wall, 
the  traditional  foundations  of  his  palace,  and  a 
noseless  statue  called  that  of  the  King  himself, 
little  remains  of  the  great  works  of  Wamba. 

Tradition  has  long  asserted  that  King  Roder- 
ick occupied  a  palace  overlooking  the  bridge  of 
San  Martlno.  As  his  reign  endured  only  two 
years,  this  palace  must  have  been  built  before 
his  accession  by  some  one  of  the  kings  in- 
tervening between  him  and  Wamba.  Its  site  com- 
manded the  western  reaches  of  the^Tagus,  as  the 
palace!  of  Wamba  had  overlooked  Its  eastern  ap- 
proach to  the  city.  The  natural  circumvallation 
of  Toledo  Is  the  long  loop  of  the  gorge  of  the 
Tagus  with  Its  background  of  mountains.  On 
a  map  the  river  has  the  form  of  a  letter  U.  The  pal- 
aces of  Wamba  and  Roderick,  therefore,  stood 
at  the  top  of  either  arm  of  the  letter,  and,  with 
the  wall  which  enclosed  Its  open  end,  they  com- 
pletely dominated  the  plain  of  the  vega  which 
stretches  away  to  the  north  and  forms  Toledo^s 
only  vulnerable   approach. 

The  site  of  each  palace  has  long  commanded  a 
216 


TOLEDO 

bridge,  and,  although  authorities  differ  widely  as  to 
the  original  construction  of  these  bridges,  It  is  most 
probable  that  both  date  from  Roman'  times,  If 
not  earlier.  The  superb  arch  of  el  Puente  de 
Alcantara^  which  with  Spanish  redundancy  of  ex- 
pression is  literally  *'  The  bridge  of  the  bridge, " 
Is  often  referred  to  as  Roman  work.  But  while 
it  may  preserve  the  outline  of  a  Roman  arch,  the 
long  history  of  destructions  and  rebuildings  for- 
bids an  earlier  date  for  any  part  of  the  existing 
structure,  than  the  close  of  the  ninth  century.  The 
present  bridge  of  San  Martino  was  erected  in  the 
thirteenth  century,  but  there  are  some  remains  of 
piers  which  are  probably  those  of  a  Roman  fabric. 
With  the  reign  of  Roderick,  tales  of  marvels 
and  magnificence  culminate  In  spectacular  confu- 
sion. The  best  known  legend,  that  of  the  frail 
Florinda,  already  narrated,  assumes  a  new  form 
in  the  hands  of  each  new  historian.  In  con- 
nection with  It  and  other  legends,  there  are  ac- 
counts of  King  Roderick's  splendour  of  person  and 
magnificence  of  environment;  of  his  sumptuous 
palace  with  Its  high  towers  and  luxuriant  gardens; 
Its  rich  furnishings  and  brilliant  court.  The  King 
himself  Is  usually  represented  as  a  striking  figure 
of  youth  and  beauty,  endowed  with  heroic  daring 
and  Invincible  courage;  but  there  are  accounts 
which  represent  him  as  eighty  years  old  at  his 
accession, 

217 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

From  this  perplexing  jumble  of  history  and 
fable,  the  first  vivid  scene  which  stands  out  is 
the  tale  of  the  magnificent  tournament  with  which 
King  Roderick  celebrated  his  marriage,  an  event 
which  followed  closely  upon  his  accession.  Doubt- 
less the  tale  was  highly  coloured  by  the  historian 
who  wrote  It  up  in  the  seventeenth  century,  but 
underneath  all  these  legends  there  lies  unquestion- 
ably some  foundation  of  fact,  and,  after  discount- 
ing palpable  exaggerations,  it  is  from  them  that 
we  must  gain  our  only  possible  impression  of  life 
in  the  Gothic  capital. 

The  Queen  of  King  Roderick  is  usually  called 
Egllona,  but  we  also  find  the  names  Ellaca  and 
Blanche.  According  to  Rojas,  she  was  the  daugh- 
ter of  an  African  king.  In  which  case  the  latter 
name  was  probably  given  her  with  her  baptism 
into  the  Christian  faith.  Rojas  narrates  with 
much  circumstantial  detail  the  early  events  of 
Roderick's  reign  and  those  connected  with  his 
marriage.  "  In  the  beginning, ''  he  informs  us, 
"  King  Roderick  called  together  at  Toledo,  a 
Cortes  of  the  higher  nobility  and  clergy  of  the 
realm.  These  he  soon  rendered  willing  to  serve 
him  in  all  that  he  desired,  by  yielding  to  many 
measures  proposed  by  them,  and  even  by  suggest- 
ing generous  decrees  for  the  public  good  and  the 
benefit  of  the  state." 

Then  the  young  King  (If  young  he  were)   made 

218 


TOLEDO 

known  his  wishes.  In  the  words  of  the  historian, 
"The  beauty  and  grace  of  Ellaca,  daughter  of  the 
King  of  Africa,  had  been  made  known  to  Roderick, 
who  had  become  enamoured  of  her,  and  who  now  de- 
sired to  send  an  embassy  composed  of  the  noblest 
of  the  kingdom,  accompanied  by  the  Archbishop 
of  Toledo,  to  ask  her  hand  In  marriage,  who  if 
she  would  become  a  Christian,  should  be  made 
the  spouse  of  King  Roderick  and  Queen  of 
Spain.  '*  The  conciliated  Cortes  yielded  a  ready 
assent  to  the  wishes  of  King  Roderick.  The  em- 
bassy was  appointed,  and  they  at  once  set  out  for 
the  court  of  the  African  King.  There  they  were 
courteously  received  and  their  proposition  accepted. 
The  young  beauty  was  entrusted  to  their  care  and 
the  straits  were  soon  recrossed  to  Malaga,  where, 
amid  suitable  festivities,  she  was  baptized  Into  her 
new  faith.  The  King  was  overjoyed  to  hear  of 
the  arrival  of  his  bride  on  Spanish  soil,  and  gave 
orders  that  she  should  at  once  set  out  for  Toledo, 
where  her  entry  was  made  the  occasion  of  pub- 
lic rejoicing.  The  marriage  was  then  celebrated 
and  Egilona  was  crowned    Queen  of  Spain. 

As  a  further  honour  to  his  royal  bride,  Roderick 
proclaimed  a  tournament  to  be  held  at  Toledo. 
According  to  the  grandiloquent  historian,  six 
months  were  required  for  despatching  invitations 
and  making  preparations  to  receive  the  guests;  for 
it   was    the   king's   wish   that    this    should   be    the 

219 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

greatest  festa  ever  seen  in  all  the  world.  Invi- 
tations were  sent,  not  only  throughout  all  Spain, 
but  to  all  the  kings  and  princes  of  Europe;  and 
so  widespread  was  the  fame  of  this  tourney  that 
many  princes  and  great  lords  were  eager  to  see 
It.  Of  those  who  came,  were  the  two  "  Counts 
of  Gascony,  the  Duque  de  Vlana,  the  Conde  de 
Marca,  the  Duque  d'Orllens,  with  four  other 
French  Duques,  the  King  of  Poland  with  two 
Marqueses  and  four  Captains,  the  Lord  of  Rome 
with  three  Alcaldes  and  five  Captains,  the  Em- 
peror of  Constantinople  with  three  Counts,  a  son 
of  the  King  of  England  with  two  great  Lords  of 
his  kingdom;  and  besides  all  these  were  many 
lords  and  nobles  from  Turkey  and  Syria  and 
other  parts,  to  the  number  of  five  thousand,  and 
all  were  followed  by  cavaliers  numbering  from 
fifty  to  five  hundred  each.  These  were  the 
stranger  guests  alone,  and  there  came  also  from 
Spain  more  than   fifty  thousand  cavaliers." 

With  swelling  enthusiasm  the  writer  goes  on: 
"  For  the  lodging  of  these  guests  the  city  was 
emptied  of  its  citizens  and  their  homes  given  up 
to  the  most  distinguished  of  those  who  came  from 
afar.  Then  there  were  ten  thousand  tents  set  up 
in  the  vega,  wherein  were  lodged  as  many  as  they 
could  accomodate;  besides  which  there  were  used 
all  the  houses  of  the  country  round  about,  and  all 
the  entertainment  was   at  the   cost   of   King   Rod- 

220 


TOLEDO 

erick.  Even  horses  and  armour  were  provided  at 
his  expense.  Iron  and  steel  to  the  amount  of  one 
hundred  thousand  hundred-weight  was  wrought 
into  helmets,  swords,  and  breastplates;  all  the 
master  armourers  of  Spain  to  the  number  of  fifteen 
thousand  being  occupied  for  six  months  with  the 
work;' 

The  King,  Don  Roderick,  further  commanded 
that  a  sumptuous  palace  should  be  built  in  the 
vega  near  the  Tagus,  convenient  to  the  lists 
where  the  tourney  was  to  be  held,  so  that  the 
illustrious  knights  who  took  part  in  it  might  the 
more  easily  be  seen ;  and  when  the  Queen  with  her 
court,  and  a  large  number  of  noble  ladies,  sat  in 
the  windows  to  witness  the  jousts,  those  who 
passed  to  see  them  were  more  than  six  thousand. 
*'  On  the  first  day,  twelve  thousand  cavaliers  went 
out,  on  the  second,  two  thousand,  and  so  on,  but 
on  Sunday  no  tilts  were  held.  The  great  tourney 
lasted  thirty  days  from  the  beginning  until  the 
end,  and  no  one  before  had  ever  see  such  gener- 
osity and  such  grandeur.  At  its  close  the  King 
invited  all  the  combatants  to  a  great  feast  where 
he  regaled  them  much,  and  the  Queen  gave  jewels 
of  price  to  the  victors,  and  the  great  pleasure  that 
all  experienced  at  this  feast  was  only  diminished 
by  the  arrival,  while  it  was  in  progress,  of  a  mes- 
senger who  came  to  announce  the  death  of  the 
King  of  Africa,  the  father  of  the  Queen." 

221 


BUILDERS    OF   SPAIN 

In  the  old  "  Cronica  del  Rey  Rodrlgo "  Is 
found  the  companion  allegory  to  that  of  the  be- 
trayal of  Florlnda — the  legend  of  the  cave  of 
Hercules;  and  In  this  tale,  Roderick's  daring  Is 
represented  as  putting  the  final  touch  to  the  ruin 
of  his  kingdom  which  his  earlier  sin  had  begun. 
So  deeply  Imbedded  was  this  belief  In  Roderick's 
responsibility,  and  In  the  portentous  marvel  by 
which  his  ruin  and  theirs  was  foretold,  that  many 
are  still  convinced  of  the  existence  of  the  great 
cave  of  Hercules  under  the  very  centre  of  Toledo, 
and  that  It  was  not  finally  closed  up  until  the 
seventeenth  century,  when  a  daring  archbishop 
with  a  few  followers  returned  half  dead  with 
fright  after  penetrating  Into  its  depths. 

Some  versions  of  this  legend  tell  of  an  en- 
chanted tower  or  a  temple,  instead  of  a  cave,  but 
in  every  case  the  portals  were  securely  locked,  and 
entrance  forbidden  under  penalty  of  extreme  peril. 
Not  only  were  the  kings  of  Spain  commanded  not 
to  seek  to  know  what  was  within,  but  each,  in 
turn,  was  bidden  to  add  another  lock  to  its  se- 
curity. Upon  his  accession,  King  Roderick  had 
added  his  lock,  but,  like  the  first  Adam,  forbidden 
knowledge  tempted  him.  We  read,  that  in  an  evil 
moment  King  Roderick  remembered  the  enchanted 
cave  and  desired  to  possess  Its  secret.  His  knights, 
fearful  of  the  consequences,  for  upon  the  opening 
of  Its  portals  the  destinies  of  Spain  were  believed 

222 


TOLEDO 

to  depend,  attempted  to  dissuade  him.  But  King 
Roderick  was  not  to  be  turned  aside;  all  the 
locks  must  be  opened  and  his  fate  and  that  of 
Spain  must  be   disclosed. 

A  sixteenth  century  copy  of  the  fabulous  chron- 
icle bears  a  rude  representation  on  wood  of  the 
opening  of  the  portentous  portal.  A  man  with 
a  huge  pair  of  pincers  is  breaking  the  locks  on 
the  door.  Near  him  stands  Roderick  In  his  regal 
robes,  and  at  the  feet  of  the  King  a  prelate  is 
kneeling,  apparently  endeavouring,  even  at  the  last 
moment,  to  dissuade  him  from  his  purpose.  A 
knight  Is  also  holding  up  his  hand  In  astonish- 
ment at  the  King's  temerity,  and  as  a  warning  of 
the  consequences  to  follow;  but  Roderick  looks 
haughty  and  determined.  Upon  the  opening  of 
the  door.  King  Roderick  entered,  followed  by 
knights  and  courtiers.  In  the  first  apartment,  a 
huge  statue  of  a  man  was  found  lying  on  a  bed. 
In  Its  hand  was  a  scroll,  and  in  the  scroll  was 
written  that  the  man  was  Hercules  the  Strong, 
with  the  warning,  "  Never  could  any  conquer 
me  save  only  Death.  Look  well  to  what  thou 
doest,  for  from  this  world  thou  wilt  carry  with 
thee  nothing  but  the  good  which  thou  hast 
done." 

In  the  second  apartment  the  walls  were  found  col- 
oured, one  part  white  as  snow,  one  part  black  as 
pitch,  one  part  green  as  an  emerald,  and  one  part 

223 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

redder  than  fresh  blood.  And  there  was  a  door 
cunningly  made,  over  which  was  an  inscription 
saying  that  Hercules  had  built  this  house  in  the 
three  hundred  and  sixth  year  of  Adam.  Then 
the  king  opened  this  door  and  found  In  Hebrew 
letters,  "  This  house  Is  one  of  the  wonders  of 
Hercules."  And  there  was  a  niche  In  a  pillar 
in  which  was  a  coffer  of  silver,  strangely  and 
subtly  wrought.  It  was  gilded  and  set  with  many 
precious  stones  of  great  price.  The  lock  was 
curiously  fashioned  of  mother-of-pearl,  and  upon 
it  was  cut  an  Inscription  In  Greek  letters  which 
read:  "  It  cannot  be  but  that  the  king,  In  whose 
time  this  coffer  shall  be  opened,  shall  see  won- 
ders before  his  death:  thus  said  Hercules,  the 
Lord  of  Greece  and  Spain,  who  knew  some  of 
those  things  which  are  to  come."  Then  King 
Roderick  took  the  lock  and  broke  It;  for  none 
other  dared  to  touch  it,  and  when  the  coffer  was 
open  it  was  found  to  contain  nothing  except  a 
white  cloth  folded  between  two  pieces  of  copper; 
and  Roderick  took  it  and  opened  It  and  found  It 
covered  with  pictures  of  strange-looking  men  wear- 
ing turbans,  and  with  swords  around  their  necks.* 
They  carried  banners,  and  their  bows  behind  them 
at  the  saddle  bow.  And  over  these  figures  were 
letters,  which  said,  "When  this  cloth  shall  be 
opened,  and  these  figures  seen,  men  apparelled  like 

8  Doubtless  the  curved  scimitars  of  Oriental  peoples. 
224 


TOLEDO 

them  shall  conquer  Spain  and  shall  be  Lords 
thereof." 

Although  this  legend  of  the  Tower  of  Her- 
cules, like  that  of  the  fair  Florlnda,  was  undoubt- 
edly fabricated  long  after  the  event  It  was  sup- 
posed to  foretell,  It  may  well  have  been  Inspired 
by  the  appearance  of  the  Moors  and  Arabs,  who, 
In  710,  were  sent  over  to  spy  out  the  land.  So 
great  was  the  terror  produced  by  their  strange 
dress,  superb  horsemanship  and  swift  attack,  that 
they  were  able  to  ravage  the  country  with  perfect 
Impunity.  Upon  their  second  appearance.  In  711, 
Theodomir  (the  Tadmir  of  the  Arabs),  Governor 
of  Andalusia,  sent  a  hasty  appeal  to  King  Roder- 
ick. "  A  horde  of  Africans,"  he  wrote,  "  have 
landed  on  the  coast,  so  strange  In  appearance  that 
one  might  take  them  as  much  for  Inhabitants  of 
the  sky  as  of  the  earth.  They  suddenly  assailed 
me:  I  disputed,  as  well  as  I  could,  their  entrance 
Into  the  country,  but  their  numbers  and  Impetuos- 
ity have  prevailed:  In  spite  of  my  efforts  they  are 
now  encamped  upon  our  soil.  Send  me  more 
troops  without  a  moment's  delay:  collect  all  who 
can  bear  arms.  So  urgent  is  the  occasion,  that  I 
consider  even  your  own  presence  necessary." 

According  to  all  accounts,  Roderick  met  the 
crisis  with  dignity  and  courage.  With  or  without 
the  warning  of  the  prophecy,  he  recognized  in 
the  summons  of  Theodomir  that  now  his  fortunes 

225 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

were  put  to  the  touch,  and  that  the  Gothic  Empire 
in  Spain  must  be  saved  quickly  if  saved  at  all. 
Within  three  months  he  set  out  from  Toledo  at 
the  head  of  the  entire  fighting  force  of  the  Goths, 
numbering,   It   Is  said,  ninety   thousand  men. 

Imagination  pictures  the  Imposing  pageant  of 
their  departure,  the  King  in  the  ivory  car  inlaid 
with  silver  In  which  he  Is  later  described  as  be- 
ing borne  Into  the  battle  of  the  Guadalete.  A 
canopy  of  brilliantly  coloured  silks  sheltered  him 
from  the  too-fervid  rays  of  the  sun,  and  the  car 
was  drawn  by  white  mules.  Over  his  shoulders 
was  a  cloak  of  purple;  upon  his  head  a  royal 
diadem,  and  his  robes  of  cloth  of  gold  were  en- 
riched with  priceless  jewels.  So  led,  the  vast  and 
pompous  procession  set  forth  from  Toledo,  march- 
ing down  the  precipitous  streets  and  across  the 
bridge  of  Alcantara,  while  walls  and  towers  were 
alive  with  spectators,  some  gay  and  proud  in  con- 
fident expectation  of  the  speedy  discomfiture  of 
the  enemy,  but  many  also  who  looked  with  lower- 
ing brows  upon  the  departing  King,  and  made 
ready  for  their  part  in  the  treason  which  was  to 
accomplish    his    overthrow. 

Within  eight  months  of  the  Vislgothic  defeat 
on  the  bank  of  the  Guadalete,  Tarik  with  his 
army  stood  before  Toledo.  Already  It  was  prac- 
tically emptied  of  its  Vislgothic  population.  The 
larger   proportion    of  -the    fighting   men    had    fol« 

226 


TOLEDO 

lowed  Roderick  Into  the  south,  leaving  an  Insuf- 
ficient number  to  control  the  disaffected  Spaniards 
and  Jews,  and,  at  the  same  time,  offer  an  effective 
opposition  to  the  Moslem  army.  The  dread  news 
of  Its  approach,  therefore,  had  plunged  the  city 
into  all  the  horrors  of  anarchy  and  excess.  Pri- 
vate houses  were  plundered  by  a  lawless  garrison, 
while  the  clergy  and  remaining  nobility  hastily 
buried  treasures  and  relics,  or  packed  them  Into 
chests  to  be  carried  with  them  in  a  desperate 
flight.  The  Archbishop  retired  to  Rome,  but  the 
most  of  the  patrician  Visigoths  took  refuge  In  the 
north. 

In  spite  of  this  exodus  Toledo's  strong  posi- 
tion rendered  it  difficult  to  capture.  Alone  among 
Spanish  cities,  Tarik  found  it  surrounded  by  a 
wall  which  rose  to  a  great  height  even  on  the 
side  protected  by  the  river;  the  approach  from 
the  vega  on  the  north  being  covered  by  out- 
works and  barbicans  of  double  strength;  all  as 
designed  and  completed  by  Wamba.  Accounts  of 
the  capitulation  are  confused  and  contradictory. 
Even  the  date  varies  from  712  to  719,  and  it  is 
probable  that  some  time  was  spent  by  Tarik  in 
the  pursuit  of  the  flying  nobles  before  he  set  him- 
self to  the  subjugation  of  their  deserted  capital. 
Some  say  that  Tarik  found  only  Jews  left  in  the 
city,  and  that  its  gates  were  thrown  open  to  wel- 
come   his    approach,    but    Toledo    was    never    yet 

227 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

ready  to  bow  to  any  conqueror,  and  the  terms  se- 
cured from  the  Berber  general,  which  were  espe- 
cially advantageous,  indicate  considerable  resistance. 
Among  the  fabulous  accounts  of  the  booty  found 
by  Tarik,  Al  Makkari  tells  of  one  hundred  and 
seventy  royal  diadems  set  with  pearls,  rubies,  and 
other  precious  stones;  and  of  a  spacious  temple 
filled  with  vases  of  gold  and  silver,  which  temple 
was  of  such  dimensions  that  when  its  riches  were 
removed  It  afforded  sufficient  room  for  the  Arab 
cavaliers  to  exercise.  In  throwing  the  spear  and 
other  military  sports.  The  writer  goes  on  to 
observe  that  the  latter  seems  almost  Incredible, 
although  he  had  It  from  most  trustworthy  author- 
ity, but  he  piously  adds,  "  God  only  knows."  Two 
Berber  soldiers  are  said  to  have  found  an  altar 
cloth  of  gold  brocade  enriched  with  hyacinths 
and  emeralds.  They  cut  off  the  shining  stones, 
which  appealed  to  their  Ignorance,  and  cast  the 
remainder  away.  Another  threw  away  the  pearls 
which  filled  a  golden  vase,  and  kept  the  vase.  A 
room  In  the  palace,  taken  possession  of  by  Tarik, 
was  found  filled  with  treasures  and  royal  insignia, 
chains,  diadems,  urns,  uncut  jewels,  sceptres,  dec- 
orated weapons,  armour,  and  robes  of  cloth  of 
gold.  The  climax  Is  reached  In  a  tale  of  the 
Psalms  of  David,  written  on  gold  leaf  in  water 
made  of  dissolved  rubies;*  and  In  a  description  of 

*  Doubtless  an   illuminated  manuscript  of  especial  beauty. 
228 


TOLEDO 

the  famous  table  of  Solomon,  finally  carried  piece- 
meal by  Musa  and  Tarik  to  Damascus,  whose 
top  was  said  to  be  made  of  a  single  emerald,  and 
whose  legs  were  of  carved  gold. 

Although  such  highly  coloured  accounts  are  much 
exaggerated,  our  knowledge  of  the  jewels  dug  up 
at  Guarrazar  forbids  that  we  should  regard  them 
as  entirely  Imaginary.  Not  only  the  above  list, 
but  many  others,  represent  a  treasure  which  served 
to  dazzle  the  eyes  of  the  Arabs  and  Moors  who 
took  possession  of  It,  and  whose  destruction  Is  an 
Immense  loss  in  the  history  of  the  goldsmith's 
art. 

The  Moslem  conquest  of  Toledo  was  soon 
found,  after  all,  to  have  produced  little  more  than 
a  temporary  disturbance  of  the  city.  The  Arabs 
were  far  more  enamoured  of  Cordova  and  Seville, 
and  so  little  attention  was  given  to  the  Gothic 
capital  that  within  a  few  years  the  generous  con- 
ditions granted  by  the  new  conquerors  had  been 
turned  Into  practical  Independence:  and,  during 
the  entire  three  and  a  half  centuries  that  Toledo 
lay  nominally  under  Moslem  rule,  she  persistently 
rebelled  against  that  authority. 

Reconquered  by  Abd-al-Rahman  I.  (756-787), 
Toledan  Independence  still  ran  so  high  that  Al- 
Hakem  I.  (796-821)  resorted  to  the  most  ex- 
treme measures  to  break  It  down.  But  although 
cowed   from   time  to  time,   revolt   followed  revolt. 

229 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

Again,  In  854,  the  city  was  besieged  by  an  army 
of  the  Caliph.  Once  more  she  was  subdued,  but 
later,  with  the  weakening  of  Moslem  authority  all 
over  the  peninsula,  Toledo  again  assumed  her  In- 
dependence. But  with  the  accession  to  the  caliph- 
ate of  Abd-al-Rahman  III.,  Toledo  found  a  king 
whose  indomitable  will  was  to  prove  even  stronger 
than  her  own.  At  his  hands  the  stubborn  city  en- 
dured a  siege  of  eight  years,  and  in  the  end  was 
starved  into  a  sullen  submission.  But  the  break- 
ing up  of  the  Cordovan  caliphate  was  not  far  in 
the  future,  and  Toledo  was  one  of  the  first  cities 
of  Spain  to  set  up  her  independence  under  a  petty 
Moslem  prince. 

The  most  gruesome  episode  of  the  above 
period,  and  indeed  in  all  the  history  of  Toledo, 
occurred  during  the  reign  of  Al-Hakem  I. 
The  Governor,  Amru,  had  succeeded  in  getting 
the  turbulent  city  pretty  well  in  hand  when  called 
upon  to  lead  an  expedition  Into  the  eastern  part 
of  the  peninsula.  During  his  absence,  Al-Hakem 
was  persuaded  to  appoint,  as  his  father's  substi- 
tute, Amru's  son  Yussef.  But  Yussef  was  both 
weak  and  tyrannous,  and  speedily  had  Toledo  in 
revolt  against  him.  Then  Amru  returned,  and, 
doubtless  with  the  consent  of  Al-Hakem,  planned 
a  retribution  whose  cold-blooded  cruelty  is  scarcely 
paralleled  in  history. 

For  many  months  Amru  dissimulated  his  anger. 
As  one  of  the  chief  hardships  of  which  the  peo' 

230 


TOLEDO 

pie  complained  was  the  billeting  of  soldiers  upon 
householders,  Amru  proposed,  for  their  accommo- 
dation, to  build  a  citadel  In  the  centre  of  the 
city,  which  should  also  be  of  valuable  assistance 
In  the  assertion  of  Toledan  rights.  When  the 
citadel  was  complete  It  was  heavily  garrisoned. 
Then  the  young  prince,  Al-Hakem's  heir,  Abd-al- 
Rahman,  halted  In  front  of  the  city  with  several 
thousand  troops.  He  was  ostensibly  en  route  for 
the  north,  with  no  Intention  of  entering  Toledo. 
But  Amru  suggested  that  It  would  be  most  in- 
hospitable not  to  offer  him  some  entertainment, 
and  the  Toledans,  only  too  ready  to  show  off  the 
new  citadel  and  at  the  same  time  enjoy  a  royal 
banquet,   accepted  the  hint  with   enthusiasm. 

A  great  feast  was  proposed,  and  the  citizens 
deputed  to  carry  the  Invitation  to  Abd-al-Rahman 
returned  with  glowing  accounts  of  his  courtesy 
and  liberality.  The  list  of  guests  Included  all  the 
chief  citizens  and  most  eminent  leaders  of  Toledo; 
and,  for  the  better  accommodation  of  so  large  a 
number.  It  was  arranged  that  all  should  enter  by 
a  postern  on  one  side  of  the  citadel,  and  leave 
by  another  In  the  opposite  wall.  Upon  the  great 
day  crowds  surrounded  both  portals,  enviously 
watching  the  arrival  of  the  fortunate  guests,  and 
later  waiting  for  their  exit.  But  hours  went  by. 
After  a  time  some  one  remarked  upon  the  omi- 
nous stillness.  Then  another  called  attention  to 
a  vapour  rising  above  the  wall  near  the  entrance, 

231 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

as  an  evidence  that  the  festivities  had  not  ceased. 
"  But  there  was  a  man  of  medicine  among  the 
bystanders  who  quickly  perceived  its  cause.  *  Un- 
happy are  we ! '  he  cried ;  *  that  is  not  the  smoke 
of  a  banquet,  but  the  vapour  from  the  blood  of 
our   murdered   brethren.*  " 

The  victims  of  this  horrible  massacre  are  vari- 
ously estimated  at  from  seven  hundred  to  five 
thousand.  They  were  decapitated  as  they  entered, 
the  headsman  being  stationed  just  inside  the  por- 
tal. The  bodies  were  cast  into  an  open  trench 
which  had  been  dug  during  the  construction  of 
the  citadel,  and  from  this  fact  the  day  was  known 
as  the  *'  Day  of  the  Foss. "  The  day  following, 
the  heads  were  ranged  In  a  ghastly  row  upon  the 
battlements.  For  a  time  Toledo's  independence 
was  crushed.  Stunned  by  the  blow,  she  was  also 
deprived,  almost  to  a  man,  of  her  leaders.  But 
sullen  resentment,  after  smouldering  for  a  time, 
at  length  flamed  out  again,  and  both  Amru  and 
his  castle  were  burned.  Surely  never  was  retri- 
bution more  just! 

Thirty  years  later  Toledo  needed  another  les- 
son. This  time  she  was  besieged  by  the  Caliph, 
Mahomet  I.,  who,  finding  the  old  walls  impreg- 
nable to  assault,  resorted  to  a  trick.  He  under- 
mined the  bridge  of  Alcantara  while  his  own 
troops  were  upon  it;  then  by  withdrawing  them 
inveigled   the   Toledans   into  pursuit.     With   their 

233 


TOLEDO 

onrush  the  bridge  split  and  the  deep  gorge  was 
piled  high   with  their   fallen  bodies. 

Yet,  In  spite  of  frequent  tyrannies  on  the  part 
of  the  caliphate,  and  constantly  recurring  Insubor- 
diation  on  that  of  Toledo,  no  city  of  Spain 
yielded  more  readily  and  completely  to  the  Influ- 
ence of  Saracenic  civilization.  The  most  Insistent 
note  In  her  aspect  to-day,  as  all  through  her  his- 
tory, is  that  of  the  mountain  eyrie  of  her  Iberic 
founders;  yet  the  touch  of  Moslem  hands  has 
everywhere  left  its  impression.  Her  character  Is 
masculine  as  compared  with  the  softer  feminine 
grace  of  Seville,  yet  Toledo's  great  monuments 
are  almost  as  distinctly  and  constantly  Saracenic 
as  are  those  of  the  southern  city. 

From  the  very  beginning  of  their  occupation, 
the  Moslems  devoted  tireless  activity  and  foster- 
ing care  to  the  Improvement  of  the  old  Gothic 
capital.  Houses  and  mosques  sprang  up;  public 
Improvements  were  undertaken;  and  gardens  soon 
blossomed  luxuriantly  both  In  the  town  and  In 
the  vcga.     An  Arabian  poet  sings: 

"  Toledo  surpasses  in  beauty  the  most  extravagant  descriptitn. 
She  is  indeed  a  city  of  pleasures  and  delights. 
God  has  lavished  upon  her  all  sorts  of  ornaments. 
He  has  given  her  her  walls  for  a  turban,  her  river  for  a  girdle, 
and  the  branches  of  trees  for  stars." 

Among  the  royal  and  princely  residences  In  the 
environs  of  Toledo,   one,  the   Mansion  of  Hours, 

233 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

stood  near  the  Tagus  a  short  distance  west  of  the 
city.  Its  walls  sparkled  with  mosaics  and  gilded 
stucco;  rare  marbles  paved  Its  floors  and  gushing 
fountains  cooled  Its  courts.  In  the  basin  of  the 
largest  fountain  was  placed  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  pieces  of  hydraulic  mechanism  ever 
invented.  This  clepsydra,  or  water  clock,  was  In- 
vented by  the  famous  astronomer,  Al-Zarkel.  It 
consisted  of  two  basins  supplied  with  water  whose 
quantity  was  regulated  by  the  phases  of  the  moon. 
With  the  appearance  of  the  crescent,  water  be- 
gan to  run  Into  the  basins,  continuing  until  the 
moon  was  full.  Then,  as  It  waned,  the  water 
also  diminished  until,  exactly  as  the  moon  disap- 
peared, the  basins  were  found  empty.  As  the 
mechanism  acted  automatically.  If  at  any  time 
water  was  taken  out  or  added  to  that  In  the 
basins,  the  amount  was  not  affected,  and  at  all 
times  represented  the  proper  amount  in  relation 
to    the    state    of    the    moon. 

In  the  garden  of  another  Toledan  villa  was  a 
pavilion  built  In  the  centre  of  an  Immense  foun- 
tain. It  was  approached  by  an  underground  pas- 
sage, and  was  constructed  of  a  delicate  frame- 
work filled  with  glass  In  many  colours,  relieved  by 
gold  and  silver  arabesques,  while  the  floor  was  a 
rich  mosaic.  At  midday,  when  the  Emir  took  his 
siesta  there,  the  pavilion  was  enveloped  in  the 
spray  of  the  fountain.     This  not  only  cooled  the 

234 


TOLEDO 

atmosphere  of  the  Interior,  but  the  sound  of  fall- 
ing water,  combined  with  the  play  of  changing 
colours  caused  by  its  flow  upon  the  wall  of  glass, 
was  calculated  to  produce  the  most  delightful 
sensations  of  luxury  and  enjoyment. 

Another  fabled  palace  was  that  made  famous 
by  the  oft-told  legend  of  Gallana.  For  this 
beautiful  daughter  of  a  Moorish  governor  of 
Toledo,  her  father  rebuilt  an  earlier  Gothic  (or 
Roman)  palace  In  the  vega  to  the  northeast  of 
the  city,  and  Lozano  relates,  at  some  length,  how 
she  was  found  there  by  Charlemagne,  who  not 
only  won  her  favour,  but  In  a  duel  cut  off  the 
hand  of  a  rival  who  persecuted  his  mistress  with 
unwelcome  attentions.  It  Is  even  said  that  Ga- 
llana was  carried  back  to  France  by  her  royal 
lover,  who  made  her  Queen  of  his  vast  empire. 
As  Charlemagne  was  never  within  hundreds  of 
miles  of  Toledo,  the  story  crumbles  at  a  touch; 
but  there  arc  still  a  few  defaced  remains  of  the 
palace  called  that  of  Gallana,  which,  together  with 
descriptions  of  what  was  In  existence  fifty  years 
ago,  Indicate*  an  abode  of  exquisite  beauty  whose 
style  and  finish  might  have  vied  with  the  famous 
palaces  of  Cordova  and  Granada. 

When  it  comes  to  actual  existing  remains  of 
Saracenic  monuments  in  Toledo,  little  is  left  of  the 
Moorish  period.  The  old  citadel  still  remained  the 
chief    fortification,    and    here,    as    elsewhere,    was 

235 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

given  the  Arabic  name  Alcazar,  which  has  clung 
to  It,  but  many  rebuildlngs  have  left  little  If  any- 
thing earlier  than  the  reconquest.  The  "  Taller 
del  Moro "  Is  thought  to  preserve  some  portions 
of  the  walls  of  the  citadel  built  by  Amru,  but 
with  this,  as  with  most  of  the  Saracenic  palaces 
and  public  works  which  remain  In  Toledo  to-day, 
although  almost  entirely  built  or  rebSIlt  by  Mos- 
lem workmen,  they  were  done  In  the  employ  of 
their  conquerors,  after  the  Christian  re-occupatlon. 
Practically  the  only  complete  earlier  example  left 
is  the  tiny  mosque  built  on  the  site  of  the  chapel 
of  Athanagild,  now  known  as  the  chapel  of 
Cristo  de  la  Luz. 

Only  twenty-one  feet  seven  and  a  half  Inches, 
by  twenty  feet  two  Inches,  on  the  ground  plan, 
this  little  mosque  Is  one  of  the  earliest,  ds  well  as 
one  of  the  most  Interesting  Saracenic  monuments 
in  the  peninsula.  The  square  enclosure  Is  divided 
into  nine  bays  by  four  pillars.  (Their  clumsily 
cut  capitals,  as  before  pointed  out,  were  probably 
re-used  from  the  earlier  structure.)  These  pillars 
are  placed  at  equal  distances  from  the  walls  and 
each  other,  and  support  dividing  walls  which  are 
continued  up  to  the  roof.  These  upper  walls  In- 
tersect and  produce  nine  cupolas,  each  crowned  by 
an  arched  and  ribbed  dome,  all  varying  In  de- 
sign. The  central  cupola  Is  carried  one  stage 
higher  than  the  others,  and  Its  dome  Is  somewhat 

236 


TOLEDO 

more  pretentious.  In  the  first  story  the  cross 
walls  have  plain  horseshoe  arches  springing  from  the 
ancient  capitals;  while  those  of  the  second  stage  are 
pierced  by  arches  of  the  same  form,  but  cusped. 
There  are  few  buildings  anywhere  of  so  much 
originality  of  design,  and  rarely  has  an  effect  of 
architectural  importance  been  produced  upon  so 
small  a  scale.  What  is  left  of  the  original  ex- 
terior shows  beautiful  brick  work  with  arcades  of 
cusped  Interlacing  arches.  In  some  of  which  red 
and  green  bricks  are  alternated.  The  side  wall 
seen  from  the  garden  Is  one  of  the  most  exquisite 
bits  of  detail  and  color  in  Toledo. 


237 


Chapter  XI 
TOLEDO— Continued 

THE  conquest  of  Toledo  by  Alfonso  VI., 
of  Leon  and  Castile,  is  usually  charac- 
terized as  an  act  of  the  basest  Ingrati- 
tude. Not  only  had  the  city  served  as  Alfonso's 
refuge  from  the  treachery  of  his  brother  Sancho, 
but  he  had  been  received  with  distinguished  kind- 
ness by  the  Moslem  King,  Al-Mamun.  A  royal 
palace  had  been  assigned  him  with  a  train  of 
slaves  for  his  service.  He  had  enjoyed  the  Inti- 
macy of  the  King,  and  shared  all  the  pleasures  of 
the  court.  He  had  even  been  given  an  honoured  po- 
sition, with  a  command.  In  the  Moslem  army ;  thus 
was  obtained,  by  Alfonso,  a  knowledge  of  the 
city's  defences,  and  of  the  growing  weakness  of 
Moslem  rule,  which  rendered  It  an  easy  prize  for 
the  Christian  advance.  But  although  Alfonso  was 
not  above  taking  advantage  of  a  friend's  extremity, 
it  must  also  be  recognized  that  Yahia,  the  son  and 
successor  of  Al-Mamun,  was  weak  and  effeminate, 
and  that  his  reign  had  reduced  the  fortunes  of 
Toledo  to  their  lowest  ebb;  furthermore,  the  prog- 
ress of  Christian  arms  southward  was  inevitable. 
The  degenerate  Yahia  had  sunk  so  low  that, 
after    appealing    at   one    time    to    Alfonso  for  aid 

238 


TOLEDO 

against  his  own  subjects,  he  finally  accepted  thank- 
fully from  the  Christian  king  the  kingdom  of 
Valencia  In  exchange  for  Toledo;  then,  after 
spending  his  last  hours  there  In  consultation  with 
his  astrologers  as  to  the  most  propitious  moment 
for  departure,  this  abject  kingling  might  have 
been  seen  taking  his  mournful  way  down  through 
her  steep  streets  and  across  the  wide  vega;  pre- 
ceded by  the  treasure  he  had  been  permitted  to 
retain,  and  expending  more  concern  upon  his  as- 
trolabe than  upon  his  lost  estate. 

On  the  twenty-sixth  of  May,  1085,  Alfonso, 
followed  by  an  Imposing  train,  made  his  royal 
entry  into  Toledo.  There  was  the  pompous  splen- 
dour of  a  vast  body  of  ecclesiastics,  and  the  long 
ranks  of  a  great  army.  Prelates  in  official  vest- 
ments bore  aloft  the  crosses  and  sacred  vessels  car- 
ried away  three  hundred  and  fifty  years  earlier 
In  hasty  and  desperate  flight;  now  brought  back 
from  their  long  hiding  in  the  depths  of  the 
Asturias.  Many  of  the  nobles  who  followed  in 
Alfonso's  train  were  descendants  of  families  who 
once  inhabited  palaces  in  the  old  Gothic  capital, 
now  returning  to  the  homes  of  their  ancestors. 
The  long  and  glittering  cavalcade  was  closed  by 
the  ladles  of  the  court,  dressed  in  silks  of  many 
colours,  with  gleaming  jewels,  mounted  on  richly 
caparisoned  horses,  and  guarded  by  a  detachment 
of   the    Castllian    army. 

239 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

This  vast  and  splendid  procession  entered  the 
city  by  the  road  sometimes  called  the  Via  Sacra. 
By  Its  winding  way  they  climbed  the  steep  hill  to 
the  tiny  mosque  which  had  long  replaced  the  an- 
cient chapel  of  AthanagUd.  It  was  the  first  tem- 
ple encountered  within  the  walls,  and  as  the  king 
was  passing  by,  his  horse  knelt.  The  action  was 
at  once  regarded  as  a  supernatural  sign.  A  place 
In  the  wall  was  opened;  one  wonders  how  they 
happened  to  hit  upon  the  exact  spot  so  readily; 
and  the  opening  disclosed  a  crucifix  with  a  lamp 
still  burning,  although  It  was  three  and  a  half  cen- 
turies since  it  had  been  walled  up.  Then  the 
Archbishop  appeared  and  mass  was  said,  and  the 
mosque,  after  Its  purification,  became  Cristo  de 
la  Luz,   or  Christ  of  the  Light. 

The  terms  granted  by  Alfonso  to  the  conquered 
city  were  most  generous.  To  those  who  submitted 
were  guaranteed  unmolested  residence  and  enjoy- 
ment of  property.  Moslem  citizens  were  per- 
mitted the  practice  of  their  own  religious  rites, 
the  services  of  their  own  magistrates,  and  were 
subject  to  their  own  laws.  Tribute  to  the  new 
king  was  to  be  the  same  as  that  rendered  to  the 
old,  and  the  Grand  Mosque,  with  a  number  of 
lesser  mosques,  was  to  be  preserved  inviolate  for 
their  use.  Only  royal  palaces  and  gardens,  for- 
tifications, and  public  works  were  to  become  the 
property  of  the  Castlllan  crown. 

240 


TOLEDO 

Alfonso  appointed  the  CId  (?)  as  alcalde  or 
governor,  and  his  French  Queen,  Constance  of 
Burgundy,  with  her  Archbishop,  Bernard  of  Cluny, 
as  regents,  while  he  conducted  an  expedition  into 
the  north.  Now  the  Grand  Mosque  had  long  re- 
placed the  cathedral  built  by  Recared,  and  some- 
where within  its  greater  extent  and  increased 
splendour  is  thought  to  have  been  preserved  some 
portion  of  the  primitive  earlier  edifice.  No  sooner 
had  Alfonso  departed,  therefore,  than  the  Queen 
and  her  Bishop  discovered  It  to  be  a  most  unholy 
thing  for  the  service  of  Islam  to  be  conducted 
upon  so  sacred  a  spot;  the  Moslems  were  sum- 
marily ejected,  and  the  throne  of  the  Archbishop 
was  quickly  re-established  upon  Its  ancient  site. 

Moslem  outcry  against  Christian  perfidy  was 
quick  and  loud.  It  penetrated  even  to  the  ears 
of  the  King  at  Leon,  who  at  once  hurried  back 
to  disclaim  any  part  In  the  wrong  done  In  his 
name;  his  denunciations  of  the  culprits  went  to 
the  extreme  of  an  offer  to  burn  both  the  Queen 
and  the  Bishop.  The  part  was  somewhat  over- 
acted, and  one  is  not  without  a  suspicion  that 
Alfonso  may  have  been  privy  to  the  treachery; 
but  it  served  Its  purpose  with  the  tender-hearted 
Moslems,  whose  righteous  anger  evaporated  in 
pity  for  the  victims  of  the  King's  wrath,  and 
In  the  end  they  condoned  the  offence  with  the 
acceptance  of  a  new  site  for  a  new  mosque. 

241 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

But  the  Queen  and  her  zealous  Bishop  were 
not  yet  through  with  their  reforms  In  Toledo. 
Although  the  Toledan  church  under  Recared  had 
embraced  the  Orthodox  form  of  faith,  with  the 
Catholic  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  the  clergy  had 
stubbornly  refused  to  yield  their  Gothic  liturgy, 
and  still  followed  its  quaint  forms  In  their  wor- 
ship. These  simple  and  ancient  rites  were  found 
shocking  and  even  heretical  by  the  Queen  and 
the  monk  fresh  from  Cluny,  and  It  was  at  once 
proposed  to  replace  them  with  the  more  generally 
accepted  Roman  ritual. 

But  Toledo  had  no  mind  to  give  up  the  liturgy 
sanctioned  by  the  usage  of  her  fathers  for  hun- 
dreds of  years  and  inherited  from  the  very  found- 
ers of  her  church ;  and  excitement  soon  ran  high, 
splitting  the  city  into  discordant  factions.  Finally 
It  was  resolved  to  submit  the  matter  to  a  trial 
of  arms.  But  the  issue  of  the  duel,  in  which  the 
champion  of  the  Toledan  ritual  was  victorious, 
was  found  unsatisfactory  by  the  Bishop,  Bernard, 
and  a  final  test  by  fire  was  arranged.  In  the 
old  plaza  of  Zocodover  a  bonfire  was  lighted, 
and  copies  of  both  formulas  were  cast  into  the 
flames.  The  French  office  struggled  with  the 
blaze  and  leaped  out,  while  the  Toledan  ritual 
remained  quiet  and  unharmed.  Even  this  could 
scarcely  have  been  considered  perfectly  conclusive, 
and  the  matter  finally  settled  itself  with  the  pres- 

242 


TOLEDO 

ervatlon  of  the  ancient  Vlsigothic  rites,  soon 
called  the  Mozarabe  ritual,  in  a  half  dozen 
churches,  which  were  gradually  reduced  to  two, 
while  the  Romish  service  was  set  up  in  the  cathe- 
dral and  finally  came  to  be  generally  accepted. 

The  Cid,  it  is  said,  was  established  with  great 
magnificence  in  the  Moorish  castle  of  San  Ser- 
vando,  whose  remains  now  look  down  upon  the 
bridge  Alcantara  from  the  heights  across  the 
Tagus.  The  shrewd  warrior  (if  he  really  came  to 
Toledo  at  this  time)  knew  better  than  to  place 
himself  in  the  hands  of  Alfonso  and  his  fierce 
and  unstable  Toledans,  by  accepting  the  royal 
palace  within  the  walls  which  was  tendered  for 
his  use.  But  although  it  was  at  Toledo  that  the 
Cid  was  publicly  avenged  upon  the  Princes  of 
Carrion  who  had  married  and  then  scorned  his 
daughters,  his  governorship  counted  for  nothing 
In  the  history  of  Toledo  Itself,  and  the  famous 
freebooter  was  soon  ofl[  for  Valencia,  which  he 
speedily  conquered  for  himself  from  the  miser- 
able Yahia. 

The  King,  Alfonso,  set  up  his  throne  In  a 
royal  palace  within  the  city.  Its  walls,  we  are 
told,  were  hung  with  gold  brocade,  and  with  the 
shields  of  a  hundred  Christian  knights;  but  which 
palace,  or  where  located,  we  may  only  conjecture. 
Alfonso  ruled  his  kingdom  from  Toledo,  and  his 
reign  left  a  profound  impression  upon  its  aspect. 

243 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

He  at  once  set  about  the  rebuilding  of  the  old 
Citadel-Alcazar.  Under  him  It  first  assumed  some- 
what of  Its  present  proportions,  and  doubtless, 
when  his  work  was  completed,  he  lived  In  It;  but 
its  primary  Importance  was  still  that  of  a  fortifi- 
cation from  which  the  CastUIan  King  could  hold 
In  check  his  mixed  and  often  turbulent  new  sub- 
jects. 

Alfonso  VI.  is  also  credited  with  the  new  wall 
which  describes  a  wide  sweep  down  Into  the  vega, 
although  Its  date,  1109,  Is  also  given  as  the  year 
of  his  death.  In  this  wall,  and  spanning  the  way 
by  which  the  Christian  King  and  his  victorious 
army  entered  Toledo,  was  the  massive  Moorish 
gateway,  called  the  Puerta  de  VIsagra.  The  date 
of  this  antique  Puerta  VIsagra,  like  the  deriva- 
tion of  Its  name,  is  as  variously  given  as  there  are 
historians  who  have  attempted  It.  Because  of  its 
early  Moorish  character  it  is  usually  ascribed  to 
the  ninth  century.  But,  although  It  Is  possible  that 
it  may  have  spanned  the  roadway  before  the  wall 
of  Alfonso  was  built,  it  seems  far  more  probable 
that  it  is  contemporary  with,  and  a  part  of,  the 
latter  work  In  the  twelfth  century.  The  name 
of  the  roadway,  Via  Sacra,  has  resulted  from  an 
attempt  to  explain  the  name  VIsagra,  but  Ford's 
Bib  Sakra,  Arabic  for  gate  of  the  country,  appears 
far  more  plausible.  Since  the  building  of  the  new 
Puerta   de  VIsagra   farther  up,  by  Philip  II.,  the 

344 


TOLEDO 

old  gateway  Has  beeii  blocked  up  and  called 
Puerta  Lodada. 

Alfonso  VI.  used  all  his  endeavours  to  retain 
the  Industrious  Moslem  and  Jewish  population  In 
his  new  capital,  a  policy  followed  by  his  succes- 
sors until  religious  Intolerance  Introduced  a  con- 
trary attitude;  and  for  the  next  three  hundred 
years,  Moslem  labour  and  Jewish  tradesmen  were 
employed  at  Toledo  In  the  production  and  Im- 
portation of  those  luxuries  for  which  the  VIsI- 
gothlc  nobility  had  always  displayed  a  passionate 
fondness.  It  follows,  therefore,  that  In  the  archi- 
tectural activities  which  soon  resulted  In  the  build- 
ing or  rebuilding  of  a  new  crop  of  churches  and 
palaces,  the  dominant  note  Is  always  Saracenic. 

In  many  cases,  as  In  those  of  Cristo  de  la  Luz 
and  the  cathedral,  mosques  were  purified;  a  for- 
mality which  by  no  means  indicated  greater  clean- 
liness, often  quite  the  reverse;  after  which  they 
were  consecrated  to  the  Christian  faith.  Such 
churches,  of  which  San  Roman  Is  a  notable  ex- 
ample, have  usually  been  subject  to  subsequent 
changes  and  rebuilding.  In  such  work,  and  in 
newer  structures,  the  Influence  of  the  North  grad- 
ually crept  in.  Alfonso  VI.  was  not  the  only 
king  of  Castile  who  brought  a  queen  and  a  bishop 
from  beyond  the  Pyrenees,  where  the  new  man- 
ner of  building,  miscalled  Gothic,  was  soon  to 
spring  into  the  full  vigour  of  a  great  style;  and  as 

245 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

the  years  rolled  on,  more  or  less  of  Gothic  details 
are  to  be  found  mingled  with  the  earlier  Moorish 
forms.  Yet  it  remains  true  that,  save  only  one, 
every  monument  of  Importance  In  Toledo,  dating 
earlier  than  the  fifteenth  century,  is  fundamentally 
and  distinctly  Saracenic. 

The  most  imposing  Moorish  monument  of  the 
Christian  period  is  the  superb  gateway,  the  Puerta 
del  Sol.  Built  In  the  old  Inner  wall  and  dating 
probably  from  the  end  of  the  twelfth  century,  Its 
grandeur  and  solidity  Impart  a  look  of  power 
which  Is  of  the  North  rather  than  of  the  South. 
But  all  Its  details.  Its  horseshoe  arches,  both 
round  and  pointed,  and  Its  cusped  and  Interlaced 
arches  of  brickwork,  are  constructed  after  the 
Moorish  fashion  and  are  purely  Saracenic.  Built 
with  due  regard  to  military  requirements,  It  Is  also 
beautiful  In  proportion  and  detail,  and  Is  still  one 
of  the  noblest  works  of  architecture  preserved  In 
the  peninsula. 

Probably  of  about  the  same  date  was  the  syna- 
gogue now  known  as  Sta.  Maria  la  Blanca.  This 
remarkable  structure  has  been  subject  to  so  much 
rebuilding,  and  so  many  reconsecratlons  to  various 
uses,  that  It  Is  a  question  how  much  of  the  orig- 
inal edifice  remains;  possibly  nothing  but  Its 
baslllcan  ground  plan,  with  the  form  of  Its  octag- 
onal columns  and  horseshoe  arches.  As  restored 
to-day,   later  work  upon   it   appears  to   have  been 

246 


Piicrta  del  Sol,  Toledo. 


TOLEDO 

largely,  If  not  entirely,  after  the  Saracenic  style. 
Fine  stucco  covers  the  walls  and  columns,  and 
even  the  capitals.  Delicate  arabesques  cut  In  the 
stucco  are  mostly  of  Arabic  designs,  but  the  deep 
and  elaborate  cutting  of  the  capitals  is  more  By- 
zantine in  feeling  than  Saracenic.  Fine  Moorish 
tiling  covers  the  floor,  and  openings  pierced  in  the 
upper  walls  between  nave  and  aisles  are  cusped 
after  the  Saracenic  fashion.  Converted  to  Chris- 
tian uses  during  the  fifteenth  century,  this  old  syn- 
agogue has  since  been  used  as  a  barracks,  an 
asylum,  a  military  store,  and  a  dancing  hall. 
These  desecrations  and  rebuildlngs  have  left  noth- 
ing of  Its  early  exterior,  and,  as  restored  to-day, 
authorities  are  greatly  in  doubt  as  to  the  date  of 
much  of  the  Interior  finish. 

But  many  things  besides  the  building  of  walls 
and  citadels,  churches  and  gateways,  were  hap- 
pening in  Toledo  during  these  early  years  of  its 
Christian  rule.  Army  after  army  of  Andaluslan 
Moslems  and  Berber  fanatics  appeared  under  her 
walls,  sent  up  fierce  challenges,  received  haughty 
replies,  and  were  finally  forced  to  retire,  having 
accomplished  nothing  against  her  Impregnable  for- 
tifications. Finally  there  came  news  of  the  stu- 
pendous preparations  for  invading  the  north,  of 
the  last  of  the  African  kings,  which  was  followed 
by  the  arming  of  all  Europe  to  repel  his  ad- 
vance;  and   In   the    spring   of    121 2,   Toledo  was 

247 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

made  the  rendezvous  of  the  vast  numbers  of  the 
united   Christian    forces. 

So  great  was  the  host  of  warriors  that  they 
overflowed  Into  the  villas  and  gardens  of  the  sur- 
rounding country.  Luckily  the  CastUIan  King, 
Alfonso  VIII. ,  had  provided  an  abundance  of 
provisions,  but  the  great  wealth  of  the  Jewish 
population  quickly  aroused  the  cupidity  of  the 
soldiers,  who  were  mostly  adventurers;  and  out- 
rage and  reprisals  soon  threatened,  not  only  the 
peace  of  the  city,  but  the  very  existence  of  the 
army.  A  plot  was  discovered  for  the  wholesale 
massacre  of  large  bodies  of  troops,  which  It  re- 
quired all  the  authority  of  Alfonso,  and  the  Influ- 
ence of  the  clergy,  to  frustrate.  That  danger 
averted,  the  departure  of  the  army  was  hastened 
as  rapidly  as  possible,  and  In  June  Its  long 
columns  crossed  the  vega  towards  the  battlefield 
of  Navas  de  Tolosa,  where,  through  the  Intrepid- 
ity of  Toledo's  warrior  Archbishop,  Rodrlgo  de 
Rada,  another  great  step  was  to  be  made  in  the 
Christian  reconquest  of  the  peninsula. 

After  the  conquest  of  Cordova  and  Seville, 
which  followed  within  fifty  years,  the  CastUIan 
court  drifted  more  and  more  to  the  south,  with 
only  occasional  visits  to  Toledo,  but  the  hieratic 
power  of  the  latter  never  waned;  and  although 
St.  Ferdinand's  extension  of  his  kingdom  deprived 
Toledo  of  her  importance   as  the  capital   of  Cas- 

248 


m 


■^'i 


%. 


x>:  •» 


Std.  Maria  la  Blanca,  Toledo, 


TOLEDO 

tile  and  Leon,  It  was  he  who  laid  the  foundation 
of  her  great  cathedral,  the  seat  of  her  powerful 
archbishops,  not  a  few  of  whom  have  been  openly 
recognized   as  the   real   rulers  of   Christian   Spain. 

Like  Alfonso  VL,  St.  Ferdinand  had  a  French 
Queen,  and  she  a  French  Bishop;  and  when  It 
was  decided  to  build  In  Toledo  a  new  and  splendid 
cathedral,  the  result  amply  proves  that  between 
them  they  engaged  a  French  architect,  or  at  least 
one  thoroughly  familiar  with  the  best  contempo- 
rary French  monuments.  The  name  of  the  archi- 
tect as  preserved,  Petrus  Petri,  Is  usually  rendered 
Pedro  Perez,  but  it  might  as  well  be  Pierre  the 
son  of  Pierre,  as  in  fact  it  most  probably  was. 
Moorish  workmen,  under  Christian  direction, 
were  still  building  In  Toledo,  Saracenic  churches, 
towers,  and  palaces.  But  while  the  Toledans 
were  content  with  such  construction  for  less  Im- 
portant edifices,  it  is  not  Improbable  that,  even 
without  a  French  queen  and  French  bishop,  what 
was  recognized  as  a  more  distinctly  Christian  ec- 
clesiastical style  would  have  been  chosen  for  the 
supreme  effort  of  their  great  church.  Street  calls 
it  a  grand  protest  against  Moslem  architecture; 
and  the  splendour  of  so  Isolated  an  example  of  a 
great   style   is   unique   In    the   history   of   building. 

The  ancient  structure,  half  cathedral,  half 
mosque,  was  entirely  cleared  away,  and.  In  August, 
1227,  the  first  stone  of  the  new  minster  was  laid 

249 


BUILDERS   OF'  SPAIN 

witK  Imposing  ceremonials  by  the  King  and  the 
redoubtable  Archbishop,  Rodrigo  de  Rada.  To- 
ledo's proud  spirit  and  lofty  aspirations  were  ex- 
pressed In  the  very  foundation  of  her  new  church. 
The  ground  plan  still  places  it  among  the  largest 
in  Christendom,  and  although  this  magnificence  of 
size  was  to  be  exceeded  by  the  later  cathedral  at 
Seville,  the  effort  of  succeeding  ages  upon  It  has 
left  Toledo's  cathedral  unrivalled  In  Europe  In 
its  splendour  of  decoration. 

As  he  surveys  It  to-day,  the  student  must  realize 
at  once  that  comparatively  little  of  the  exterior 
of  the  cathedral  at  Toledo  has  been  left  un- 
touched during  the  past  three  centuries.  Repairs 
and  additions  have  made  a  hodge-podge  of  the 
most  of  Its  walls  and  roofs,  and  even  the  effect 
of  Its  mountainous  mass  of  stone  Is  effectually 
spoiled  by  the  closely  huddled  bulk  of  contiguous 
buildings.  In  Its  Interior,  however,  both  construc- 
tion and  detail  have  preserved  their  original  forms 
to  a  remarkable  degree,  and  both  are  singularly 
pure  Gothic.  This  fact  Is  astonishing  when  it  Is 
considered  that  the  larger  proportion  of  the  work- 
men were  doubtless  Moslems,  or  Spaniards  trained 
in  Saracenic  methods.  Only  once  In  the  fabric  of 
the  church  itself  does  Moslem  feeling  creep  In,  and 
that  in  the  clerestory  of  the  choir,  where  the 
arched  openings  Incline  to  the  horseshoe  form, 
and  are   sharply  cusped   after   the    Moorish  man- 

250 


Cathedral,   Toledo. 

Nave   Looking    West. 
Interior  of  Coro  in  Foreground. 


of      I  la      IT: 


2:^0 


TOLEDO 

ner.  The  Spanlshness  of  the  completed  structure 
Is  more  pervasive,  and  touches  with  a  barbaric 
magnificence  the  most  of  the  ornamentation.  But 
in  its  fundamental  form,  and  in  its  mouldings 
and  traceries,  the  cathedral  at  Toledo  Is  compara- 
ble, and  occasionally  to  the  advantage  of  the 
Spanish  church,  with  the  best  of  the  French 
Gothic   monuments. 

For  a  study  of  its  most  salient  characteristics, 
no  better  plan  can  be  followed  than  that  of  a 
comparison  of  the  cathedral  of  Toledo  with  Notre 
Dame,  Parls.^  First  as  to  proportions.  The 
length  of  the  two  churches  is  nearly  equal.  Paris 
is  four  hundred,  Toledo  three  hundred  and  ninety 
feet  long;  but  In  width  Paris  is  one  hundred  and 
ten  feet,  and  Toledo  one  hundred  and  seventy- 
eight.  Toledo's  vast  extent  is,  therefore,  entirely 
a  matter  of  width,  and  when  it  Is  found  that 
Its  nave  Is  no  higher  than  that  of  Paris,  its  great- 
est structural  defect,  namely,  too  great  width  for 
its  length  and  height,  is  fully  disclosed.  The 
same  mistake  was  made  at  Milan,  but  the  aisles 
of  Toledo  are  lower,  and  the  greater  expanse  of 
Its  clerestory  walls  where,  in  Its  enormous  win- 
dows, every  available  Inch  Is  made  to  glow  with 
colour,  prevents  to  a  great  degree  the  monotony 
of  proportions   and  interior  gloom   of  the   Italian 

1  See  "  French  Cathedrals  and  Chateaux,"  by  the  author  of  this 
book. 

251 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

example.  Indeed,  In  Toledo  the  proportionate 
height  of  the  two  aisles  to  that  of  the  nave  Is 
so  admirable  that  the  structure  does  not  appear  as 
wide  and  low  as  It  really  Is;  and  even  Its  propor- 
tionate shortness  Is  lost  sight  of  In  purity  of  line, 
simplicity  of  organism,  and  Imposing  construction. 
The  most  brilliant  achievement  In  the  construc- 
tion of  the  cathedral  at  Toledo  Is  found  In  the 
vaulting  of  the  curving  aisles  which  surround  the 
apse,  always  a  problem  of  the  greatest  difficulty 
In  the  erection  of  Gothic  churches.  In  early  and 
small  examples,  the  curving  bays  were  left,  as 
naturally  formed — that  Is,  wedge-shaped,  and  the 
first  advance  was  made  when  the  diagonal  ribs 
of  the  vaulting,  instead  of  being  left  straight, 
were  either  bent  at  an  angle,  or  curved,  so  that 
they  crossed  the  centre  of  each  bay.^  With  the 
growth  In  size  of  the  great  cathedrals,  and  espe- 
cially with  double  aisles.  It  was  found  necessary 
to  place  more  piers  In  the  outer  curves  of  the 
aisles  than  were  found  In  the  end  of  the  apse. 
This  effected  new  divisions  of  the  vaulting  bays, 
and  a  wide  variety  of  arrangement  Is  found.  At 
Paris  the  additional  outer  piers  are  placed  oppo- 
site Inner  arches,  and  the  vaulting  compartments 
are  uniformly  wedge-shaped,  alternately  pointing 
in  and  out.     But  at  Toledo,  the  architect  has  hit 

2  See  chapter  on  St.  Denis,  "  French  Cathedrals  and  Chateaux,"  by 
the  author  of  the  present  volume. 

252 


TOLEDO 

upon  a  plan  which  Is  by  all  means  the  best  solution 
of  the  problem  ever  reached.  He  has  doubled  the 
number  of  each  encircling  row  of  columns,  but  has 
so  arranged  them  that  the  main  bays  are  nearly 
square,  and  radiate  at  right  angles  from  the 
arches  of  the  curving  apse,  while  between  them 
are  triangular  bays,  all  with  their  sharp  points 
directed  Inwards.  As  a  result.  Instead  of  block- 
ing up  the  vista  through  each  arch  by  an  outer 
column,  as  at  Paris,  this  arrangement  at  Toledo 
renders  possible  an  unobstructed  view,  from  any 
point  In  the  nave  or  aisles,  to  the  outer  windows 
of  the  choir  aisles;  an  effect  among  the  most 
beautiful  of  the  results  of  the  Gothic  style. 

But,  besides  the  solid  screen  and  Retablo  of 
the  Capilla  Mayor,  the  walls  of  the  east  end  of 
Toledo's  cathedral.  Instead  of  being  filled  with 
windows,  are  now  blocked  up  by  chapels,  re- 
ducing the  choir  aisles  to  mere  passageways,  and 
depriving  of  half  its  possible  effect  the  admirable 
placing  of  columns.  But  that  arrangement,  with 
the  resulting  vaulting  system,  remains  nevertheless 
the  chief  constructive  success  of  the  entire  fabric, 
and  one  of  the  most  brilliant  achievements  of  the 
Gothic  style. 

The  blocking  up,  by  the  solid  walls  of  Its  Coro, 
of  the  long  vista  of  the  nave.  In  Toledo,  is 
partly  compensated  by  the  unrivalled  richness 
of     both     Coro     and     Capilla     Mayor.     White 

253 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

marble,  mellowed  by  time,  with  jasper  and 
porphyry,  are  cut  Into  such  elaboration  of  carving 
as  one  may  not  see  in  Europe  outside  of  Spain, 
and  in  Spain  nowhere  In  such  piled-up  magnifi- 
cence as  In  Toledo.  Undoubtedly  overdone,  and 
frequently  bizarre,  the  endless  labour  of  sculpture, 
together  with  bronze  and  gilded  screens  and 
painted  altar  pieces,  all  stained  with  additional 
colour  from  the  brilliant  walls  of  glass,  produce  an 
atmosphere  of  sombre  splendour  which  Is  seldom 
equalled  except  where  some  barbaric  or  oriental 
Influence   Is   paramount. 

All  of  this  furnishing  and  decoration,  as  well 
as  the  chapels  which  surround  the  aisles,  have 
been  the  gradual  work  of  the  centuries  since  Pierre 
the  son  of  Pierre  (who  Is  believed  to  have  lived 
until  1290)  saw  the  body  of  the  great  cathedral 
well  on  to  Its  completion.  The  growth  of  the 
great  pile,  therefore,  forms  an  abstract  of  the  ar- 
tistic development,  as  well  as  of  the  history,  of 
Toledo.  A  wave  of  the  Norman  Influence,  which 
followed  the  alliances  of  the  royal  house  of  Cas- 
tile with  that  of  England,  Is  seen  In  the  dog- 
tooth ornament  which  Is  fairly  plentiful  at  the 
east  end  of  the  church.  There  is  even  a  little 
of  the  later  English  ball-flower  to  be  found.  A 
richly  carved  Moresque  arch  of  stucco  In  the 
chapel  of  Sta.  Lucia,  and  the  sumptuous  ante 
sala  of  the  Sala  Capitular,  In  the  same  style,  bear 

254 


C  a  pill  a  Mayor, 

Cathedral,   Toledo. 


TOLEDO 

witness  to  the  long  preservation  of  Saracenic  tra- 
ditions; the  latter  work  probably  dating  from 
the  fifteenth  century.  But  the  mass  of  the  orna- 
ment Is  Gothic,  Gothic  Plateresque,  Renaissance 
Plateresque,  and  so  on  In  the  regular  progression 
of  the  styles  developed  in  Spain. 

The  names  which  ring  out  the  most  sonorously 
in  the  annals  of  the  cathedral  are  those  of  To- 
ledo's powerful  churchmen.  The  chapel  of  Ilde- 
fonso  was  founded  by  Rodrlgo  de  Rada.  The 
magnificent  Cardinal-Bishop  Tenorlo  built  the 
cloisters,  the  chapel  of  San  Bias,  and  the  superb 
exterior  walls  of  the  Coro;  the  latter  composed  of 
fifty-two  precious  and  differently  coloured  marbles. 
Many  other  important  works  In  the  town  are  due 
to  this  more  than  royal  Bishop,  not  the  least  of 
which  was  the  reconstruction  of  the  bridge  of 
San  Martino,  after  it  was  broken  down  by 
Henry  IV. 

The  *^  Tertius  Rex'*  of  the  earlier  years  of  the 
reign  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  Mendoza,  left 
the  sumptuous  carvings  of  the  lower  stalls  of  the 
Coro,  with  their  historical  medallions  of  the  con- 
quest of  Granada.  This  Archbishop  also  secured 
for  himself  a  tomb  among  the  early  kings  of 
Castile  In  the  Capllla  Mayor. 

Cardinal  Xlmenes,  to  whom  the  Spaniards  usu- 
ally give  his  other  name,  CIsneros,  being  far  more 
frugal  In  his  personal  expenditure  than  his  prede- 

255 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

cesser,  had  greater  wealth  to  bestow  upon  his 
church.  Much  of  the  splendour  of  the  Capilla 
Mayor  is  due  to  him,  as  well  as  the  carvings  of 
Berruguete  and  Borgogna  in  the  stalls  of  the 
Coro.  But  the  most  magnificent  single  work  of 
Ximenes  was  the  Custodia  In  solid  silver,  wrought 
between  the  years  15 17  and  1523,  by  Enrique 
Arfe,  a  Spaniard  by  birth  but  of  German  parent- 
age. It  is  In  the  form  of  a  Gothic  hexagonal 
temple,  so  delicately  pierced  that  it  looks  like  lace 
work.  It  Is  studded  with  gems;  bells  and  Incense 
holders  of  filagree  hang  from  the  roof;  and  two 
hundred  and  sixty  statues  fill  Its  niches.  Within 
It  Is  placed  the  virll  which  Ximenes  had  made  of 
the  first  gold  brought  by  Columbus  from  Amer- 
ica, an  Ingot  weighing  twenty-nine  pounds.  The 
whole  structure  is  crowned  by  a  gold  and  jewelled 
cross,  said  to  have  been  raised  by  Mendoza  above 
the  towers  of  the  Alhambra  the  day  of  the  sur- 
render of  Granada. 

Although  Cardinal  Tavera  left  no  distinctive 
impression  upon  his  cathedral,  his  reputation  for 
piety  and  justice  has  preserved  a  noble  name  in 
the  history  of  Toledo:  and.  In  the  great  Hospital 
founded  by  him  down  In  the  vega,  a  monument 
worthy  of  his  fame,  one  of  the  most  splendid  tombs 
in  existence,  was  reared  by  Berruguete.  Cardinal 
Rojas,  who  erected  the  shrine  to  mark  the  spot 
where  the  Virgin   appeared  to  St.   Ildefonso;  and 

256 


TOLEDO 

Archbishop  Contreras,  who  completed  the  western 
tower  and  spire  with  its  triple  crown  of  thorns, 
complete  the  list  of  the  most  eminent  of  the 
archbishops  of  Toledo,  whose  labours  upon  her 
cathedral  carry  us  well  into  the  Renaissance 
period. 

That  the  results  are  not  equally  pure  should 
be  expected,  but  it  is  worthy  of  remark 
that  only  once  in  the  entire  structure  does  the 
critic  find  work  which  is  utterly  to  be  condemned, 
and  that  in  the  latest  effort  for  its  decoration. 
In  the  eighteenth  century  that  abomination  of  the 
degraded  Churrigueresque  movement,  the  Tras- 
parente^  replaced  a  part  of  the  earlier  Gothic 
screen  back  of  the  High  Altar.  This  "  fricassee 
of  marble "  is  said  to  have  cost  two  hundred 
thousand  ducats,  and  never  in  the  history  of  art 
was  anything  more  atrocious  conceived  and  ex- 
ecuted. Yet  the  unveiling  of  this  horror,  composed 
of  clouds,  rays  of  light,  and  limbs  of  angels,  all 
heavily  executed  in  marble,  was  made  the  occasion 
of  national  rejoicing,  with  processions,  bull  fights, 
fireworks,  and  illuminations.  Like  the  superb 
eagle  of  the  desk  of  the  Coro,  and  the  incon- 
ceivable richness  of  the  Treasury,  where  the  single 
item  of  the  robe  of  the  Virgin  is  embroidered 
with  eighty-five  thousand  seed  pearls,  not  to  men- 
tion diamonds,  rubies,  and  other  precious  stones, 
the    Trasparente    is    the    supreme    example    of    its 

257 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

kind,  a  monument  to  the  barbaric  extravagance 
of  Spanish  taste,  and  to  the  lowest  degradation  of 
Spanish    art. 

•  •  •  •  • 

Until  the  fifteenth  century  the  old  Citadel  was 
most  frequently  used  as  a  fortress  or  a  prison. 
One  of  Its  most  pathetic  Inmates  was  the  unhappy 
Queen  of  Pedro  el  Cruel,  Blanche  of  Bourbon; 
but  her  royal  spouse,  when  in  Toledo,  preferred 
for  himself  a  residence  In  the  Moresque  palace 
which  still  bears  his  name.  Another  example  of 
Pedro's  reign  was  a  synagogue  in  the  Jewish 
quarter,  in  the  bastard  Moresque  style  of  Pedro's 
restoration  of  the  Alcazar  at  Seville.  After  a 
long  chapter  of  vicissitudes,  what  is  left  of  this 
synagogue  is  now  known  as  the  church  of  El 
Transito.  Its  original  splendour,  still  indicated  by 
its  rich  ornamentation,  furnished  such  conspicuous 
evidence  of  the  wealth  of  Its  builder,  Samuel 
Levi,  that  Pedro's  cupidity,  always  easily  aroused, 
suggested  suspicions  of  the  Jew's  honesty,  and  his 
disgrace  and  spoliation  were  quickly  accomplished. 

But  poor  Blanche  appears  to  have  inspired  lit- 
tle feeling  of  any  kind  In  the  breast  of  her  ty- 
rant. The  excuse  usually  given  for  her  long 
imprisonment  was  the  alleged  discovery  by  Pedro 
of  a  mutual  tenderness  between  her  and  his  half- 
brother,  Don  Fadrlque;  but  we  know  to-day  that 
the  pale  timidity  of  the  young  Queen  failed  to  at- 

258 


■^ 


Chapel  of  Santiago. 

Cathedral.   Toledo. 


TOLEDO 

tract  the  vindictive  Pedro,  and,  furthermore,  that 
his  passion  for  Maria  de  Padllla  left  him  little 
thought   or  sentiment   for   her  legitimate   rival. 

One  day  while  praying  In  the  cathedral, 
Blanche,  at  last  grown  desperate,  suddenly  called 
out  "Sanctuary!"  The  Toledans  at  once  rallied 
to  the  support  of  the  outraged  Queen.  Word 
was  sent  to  Don  Fadrlque,  who,  as  Grand  Master 
of  Santiago,  had  Its  forces  at  his  command,  and 
within  a  few  weeks,  most  of  the  nobility  of  Cas- 
tile, at  this  period  chronically  at  odds  with  the 
King,  had  flocked  to  her  standard.  Blanche  was 
proclaimed  free  and  lawful  sovereign  of  Spain, 
and  Pedro  was  summoned  to  give  the  Queen  her 
rightful  place.  Pedro,  caught  at  a  disadvantage, 
was  obliged  to  temporize,  but  lack  of  any  real 
union  among  the  leaders  finally  defeated  their 
cause,  and  Blanche  was  sent  to  a  stronger  and 
more  Isolated  fortress,  while  the  leaders  of  the 
movement  were  hanged.  But,  for  the  time,  Fad- 
rique  escaped  his  brother's  anger. 

King  Juan  II.  displayed  a  marked  fondness  for 
Toledo,  and  to  him  are  attributed  extensive  ad- 
ditions and  restorations  at  the  old  Citadel-Alcazar. 
These  works  were  accomplished  under  the  care  of 
the  great  Conde  de  Luna,  who  also  erected  the 
most  magnificent  chapel  of  the  cathedral.  The 
Conde  de  Luna  was  another  Grand  Master  of 
Santiago,  and  his  chapel,  which  also  served  as  the 

259 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

tomb  of  his  family,  was  dedicated  to  that  saint. 
It  IS  In  the  richest  flamboyant  Gothic,  with  open 
arches  curiously  built  across  Its  corners.  The  arms 
of  its  founder,  with  the  scallop  shells  indicating 
his  office,  are  freely  mingled  with  other  decora- 
tions, and  splendid  tombs  of  the  Conde  and  Con- 
dessa  occupy  the  centre  of  the  chapel. 

The  original  tombs,  designed  under  the  super- 
vision of  the  great  favourite  himself,  were  even 
more  magnificent,  and  possessed  the  added  charm 
of  providing  entertainment  for  the  curious.  The 
recumbent  full-length  figures  were  of  bronze,  and 
so  fashioned  that  whenever  mass  was  recited  they 
rose  and  knelt  during  the  service.  Had  these 
figures  been  spared,  what  a  fruitful  source  of  in- 
come to  the  modern  sacristan!  But  after  the  dis- 
grace and  execution  of  De  Luna,  his  enemies 
clamoured,  as  an  additional  indignity,  for  their  de- 
struction, and  they  were  broken  up  and  recast  into 
the  pulpits  outside  the  reja  of  the  Capilla  Mayor. 
The  present  tombs  were  erected  by  the  daughter 
of  the  fallen  favourite,  after  his  so-called  crimes 
had  been  forgotten. 

During  the  troubles  incident  to  Isabella's  acces- 
sion, Toledo,  aways  strenuous,  violently  cham- 
pioned first  one  side  and  then  the  other.  But 
once  seated  upon  the  throne,  no  city  in  Spain  be- 
came more  loyal  to  the  great  Queen.  Although 
the    most    stirring    events    of    Isabella's    reign    lie 

260 


Heraldic  Oruameut. 

Saji  Juan  de  los  Beyes,   Toledo. 


TOLEDO 

elsewhere,  she  visited  Toledo  many  times,  and  the 
power  of  Its  archbishops  was  never  so  great  either 
before  or  since.  Here  was  erected  the  first  archi- 
tectural work  of  importance  of  this  reign:  the 
church  and  convent  of  San  Juan  de  los  Reyes.  It 
was  begun,  In  1476,  to  commemorate  a  decisive 
victory  over  the  forces  of  La  Beltraneja  at  Toro. 
Although  the  building  suffered  serious  Injury  at 
the  time  of  the  peninsular  war,  It  still  remains  a 
famous  example  of  late  and  florid  Gothic.  The 
church  Itself  Is  small,  or  at  least  It  appears  so.  Its 
chief  architectural  feature  Is  a  pendentlve  cupola, 
or  lantern,  at  the  crossing,  which  strongly  sug- 
gests the  famous  octagon  at  Ely.  Besides  this 
cupola  the  superb  sculpture  of  the  Interior  walls 
demands  attention.  Street  observes  that  this  ap- 
pears to  have  been  the  age  of  heraldic  achieve- 
ments; for  here  once  more,  as  in  the  chapel  of 
Santiago,  angels  are  engaged  in  the  unangellc  oc- 
cupation of  holding  up  the  shields  which  crowd 
the  walls.^ 

Here  first  we  find  the  quartered  arms  of  Ferdi- 
nand and  Isabella,  which,  during  their  reign,  were 
made  to  appear  upon  every  monument  of  impor- 
tance in  Spain;  but  here  the  lions  and  castles  of 
Leon  and  Castile,  with  the  bars  of  Aragon,  and 
the  bars  and  eagles  of  Sicily,  are  borne  by  an  eagle 

3  The  chains  hung  on  the  outside  walls  are  said  to  have  been 
taken  from  the  limbs  of  Christian  captives  at  Granada. 

261 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

with  a  halo.  This  Is  the  eagle  of  St.  John,  carved 
here  to  do  honour  to  the  saint  to  whom  the  church 
was  dedicated,  and  for  whom  at  the  same  time 
the  Infant  prince  and  heir  was  named.  The  F. 
and  Y.  for  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  (Ysabel)  also 
frequently  appear,  as  well  as  the  yoke  and  the 
bundle  of  arrows,  which  were  the  especial  device 
of  each.  "  It  was  common,"  says  Oviedo,  "  for 
each  party  to  adopt  a  device  whose  Initial  corre- 
sponded with  that  of  the  name  of  the  other." 
Thus  a  Yugo  or  lugo  (yoke)  was  Ferdinand's 
especial  emblem,  and  a  Flechas  (bundle  of  arrows) 
that  of  Isabella.  Both  devices  are  further  in- 
terpreted— the  yoke  as  indicating  equality  (the 
words  tanta  monta — tantamount — are  often  found 
with  It),  and  the  bundle  of  arrows  as  referring 
to  the  binding  together  of  the  states  of  Spain  Into 
a  united  kingdom. 

The  lace-like  carvings  of  mouldings  and  panels 
In  the  church  become  even  more  delicate  and 
thread-like  In  the  ornamentation  of  the  cloisters. 
The  work  Is  exquisite,  yet  somehow  it  fails  to 
satisfy  as  does  the  less  elegant  but  more  distinctly 
llthic  work  of  earlier  periods.  Here  the  sculptor 
is  carving  for  the  sake  of  his  carving,  rather  than 
for  that  of  the  monument  which  he  decorates, 
and  his  measure  of  success  lies  very  largely  in  the 
astonishment  he  provokes.  The  same  criticism 
may  be  applied  to  the  bizarre  forms  of  the  upper 

262 


Cloister, 

San  Juan  de  los  Beyes,  Toledo. 


a  unite 


TOLEDO 

arches  of  the  cloisters,  and,  in  some  degree  also, 
to  the  weak  tracery  of  the  lower  ones.  The  at- 
mosphere is  of  enervation  rather  than  of  vigour, 
and  one  wonders  at  the  ardent  spirit  of  Xlmenes, 
who  here  entered  upon  the  strenuous  life  of  pov- 
erty and  self-abasement  which  he  had  marked  out 
for  himself  before  called  upon  to  begin  the  great 
career  which  made  him  the  successor  of  Men- 
doza. 

In  1494,  only  a  year  before  his  death.  Cardinal 
Mendoza  had  determined  upon  the  erection,  at  or 
near  the  location  of  the  old  Praetorian  palace,  of 
a  hospital  which,  from  the  form  of  its  ground 
plan — a  Maltese  cross — was  to  be  known  as  Santa 
Cruz.  The  work,  which  was  carried  to  Its  com- 
pletion by  Queen  Isabella,  was  the  earliest  dis- 
tinctive example  of  importance  in  Spain  of  the 
Renaissance  movement,  and  from  that  fact,  as 
well  as  from  Its  extent  and  splendour.  It  remains 
one  of  the  most  significant  architectural  monuments 
in  the  peninsula.  In  its  superb  portal  are  still  to 
be  found  Gothic  details,  and  the  heavy  doors  are 
studded  with  huge  Moorish  nails.  But,  although 
the  absurdly  pliant  columns  of  Its  second  stage  are 
inconceivable  In  any  region  blessed  with  pure  tra- 
ditions or  sanity  of  taste,  the  mass  of  the  ricK 
ornament  Is  purely  classical  In  design.  In  the  two 
courts  and  the  splendid  staircase,  even  more  of  the 
Gothic  has  crept  In  than  In  the  portal,  but  funda- 

263 


BUILDERS  OF   SPAIN 

mentally  the  edifice  Is  a  Renaissance  monument, 
with   Plateresque  ornamentation. 

In  1479,  the  Infanta  Juana  was  born  in  To- 
ledo. From  her  resemblance  to  the  mother  of 
Ferdinand,  Queen  Isabella  playfully  called  this 
little  daughter,  her  mother-in-law.  "  Playfulness " 
In  Isabella  seems  somehow  out  of  character,  but 
one  feels  thankful  for  a  season  of  light-hearted 
gaiety  to  offset  the  prevailing  heaviness  of  her 
career  and  the  gloom  of  that  of  the  melancholy 
Juana.  Upon  the  occasion  of  Juana's  first  visit 
to  Spain  after  her  marriage,  a  grand  reception 
was  given  her  at  Toledo  by  Isabella.  A  cortes 
was  convened  to  swear  fealty  to  the  Infanta,  then 
recognized  as  the  heiress  of  the  united  kingdom 
of  Christian  Spain.  In  order  to  render  the 
stately  ceremonial  more  Imposing,  and  possibly 
also  to  please  the  luxuriously  Inclined  Philip,  the 
sumptuary  laws  were  relaxed  for  the  time,  and 
once  more  the  grim  old  city  blossomed  out  In  silks 
and  jewels. 

Many  years  later,  the  accession  of  Philip  and 
Juana  was  proclaimed  from  the  plaza  Zocodover. 
Isabella's  death  occurred  at  Medina  del  Campo, 
from  whence  a  courier  brought  the  news  with 
breathless  haste;  a  platform  was  hastily  im- 
provised, and  from  It,  the  heralds,  after  a  long 
blast  of  trumpets,  announced  the  passing  away  of 
the  beloved  Queen.      Then   Ferdinand,  in  accord- 

264 


Hospital  Sta.  Cruz,   Toledo. 

Main  Portal. 


TOLEDO 

ance  with  the  will  of  Isabella,  publicly  resigned 
the  crown,  so  long  shared  with  his  Queen,  and 
assumed  the  title  of  Governor  of  Castile,  which 
he  was  to  hold  until  the  arrival  of  his  daughter 
and  her  husband.  The  ceremonial  was  concluded 
with  the  unfurling  of  the  standard  of  Juana  by 
the   Duke  of  Alva. 

As  might  have  been  expected,  the  high-spirited 
citizens  of  Toledo  were  among  the  first  and  most 
resolute  of  those  who  rebelled  against  the  unpop- 
ular measures  of  the  early  reign  of  Charles  V.; 
and  after  Charles  had  demanded  and  received  an 
unconstitutional  grant  from  the  cortes,  which  he 
Insulted  his  subjects  by  assembling  in  remote 
Gallcia,  the  fiery  Toledans  flew  to  arms.  After 
capturing  the  gates  and  the  Alcazar,  they  deprived 
of  all  authority  any  person  whom  they  suspected 
of  attachment  to  the  King.  Then  they  proceeded 
to   set   up    a   popular   government. 

The  chief  leader  of  the  rebels,  who  was  also 
the  hero  of  the  revolution,  was  the  son  of  the 
commander  of  the  castle,  Don  Juan  de  Padllla,  a 
young  man  of  marked  ability,  daring  courage,  and 
a  true  patriot.  In  his  early  hours  of  popularity, 
twenty  thousand  workmen  rose  at  his  call,  and, 
arming  themselves,  followed  him  down  to  Valla- 
dolld  to  bring  away  the  seals  of  the  kingdom,  the 
public  archives,  and  the  treasury  books.  The  in- 
trepid leader  with  his  devoted  little  army  paid  a 

265 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

visit  to  Juana,  imprisoned  at  Tordesillas,  but, 
although  she  spoke  them  fair,  and  they  claimed  to 
have  found  her  quite  sane,  she  could  not  be  in- 
duced to  sign  any  authoritative  papers,  or  to  place 
herself  at  the  head  of  the  insurrection.  By  this 
time  the  party  of  Charles  had  gathered  sufficient 
force  to  attack  Padilla,  whose  defeat  left  the 
rebels  in  immediate  need  of  reinforcements  and 
supplies. 

Then  the  heroic  wife  of  Padilla  came  to  the 
front.  Toledo  was  already  so  thoroughly  stripped 
of  her  resources  that  little  was  left  except  the 
treasure  of  the  cathedral.  There  was  great  danger 
of  giving  offence  to  the  pious  and  superstitious, 
but  money  must  be  sent.  Then  Maria  de  Padilla 
(born  Pacheo,  and  usually  so-called)  placed  herself 
at  the  head  of  a  solemn  procession  of  the  des- 
perate women  of  Toledo,  who,  clad  in  mourning 
habits,  marched  to  the  great  church.  There  they 
fell  upon  their  knees,  and  beating  their  breasts, 
with  tears  streaming  from  their  eyes,  they  first 
implored  pardon  from  the  saints,  and  then  vio- 
lated the  shrines.  But  the  sacred  treasure  was 
fruitlessly  spent;  jealousy  of  his  leadership  soon 
cost  Juan  de  Padilla  his  life;  and  the  defeat  of 
the  insurgents  which  naturally  followed  these  dis- 
sensions within  their  ranks,  quickly  left  Toledo  to 
stand  out  alone  against  the  Imperial  army. 

But   Toledo   never   yet   gave   up    until   the  last 
266 


TOLEDO 

extremity,  and  in  the  wife  of  her  dead  patriot 
she  still  possessed  a  leader  worthy  of  her  most 
virile  days.  Robing  herself  in  black,  the  "great 
widow,"  as  a  Spanish  poet  calls  Maria  de  Pacheo, 
placed  herself  at  the  head  of  the  insurgents.  By 
this  time  a  considerable  court  party  had  formed 
in  Toledo,  but  so  inspiring  was  her  presence  that 
at  one  time  both  factions  carried  Maria  de  Pacheo 
in  triumph  to  the  Alcazar,  where  they  enthroned 
her  like  a  queen.  For  days  her  lightest  word  was 
a  command;  and,  although  the  enemy  found  her 
Implacable,  she  also  possessed  that  rarest  quality 
of  a  woman  suddenly  given  great  power,  absolute 
justice.  But  her  cause,  always  a  desperate  one, 
was  soon  hopeless;  and  when  resistance  became 
worse  than  useless,  the  heroic  widow  with  her 
baby  son  stole  out  of  Toledo  by  night  and  made 
her  way  to  Portugal.  After  the  triumph  of 
Charles,  the  palace  of  Padilla  was  razed  to  the 
ground. 

The  latest  architectural  work  of  importance  in 
Toledo  was  undertaken  during  the  reign  of 
Charles  V.  Think  of  a  city  practically  untouched 
since  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century!  The 
work  of  Charles  was  practically  confined  to  the 
rebuilding  of  the  Citadel-Alcazar.  At  last  it  was 
to  be  made  into  a  royal  palace,  and  Charles 
brought  together  all  the  best  architects  of  Spain 
to  contribute  of  their  efforts  for  its  splendour.    It 

267 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

IS  probable  that  he  intended  to  revive  the  ancient 
glories  of  Toledo  as  the  residence  of  the  court. 
But  the  death  of  the  Empress,  for  whose  home  It 
was  especially  planned,  was  a  heavy  blow  to  the 
work,  and,  although  Charles  frequently  resided  in 
the  Alcazar,  it  was  left  to  be  completed  by  Philip 
II.  We  are  told  that  the  east  and  west  fagades, 
together  with  a  few  rooms  of  the  earlier  struc- 
ture, built  by  Alfonso  VI.  and  embellished  by 
Alfonso  X.  and  Juan  II.,  were  preserved  in  the 
new  Alcazar;  further,  that  for  many  years  it  was 
the  most  sumptuous  palace   in  Spain. 

Although  the  Alcazar  has  suffered  from  four 
fires  and  as  many  rebulldlngs,  the  last  rebuilding 
having  been  accomplished  since  1886,  it  is  still 
claimed  that  most  of  the  exterior  walls  and  a  few 
rooms  remain  as  left  by  Charles  and  Philip.  The 
east  fagade  still  bespeaks  the  thirteenth  century 
and  Alfonso  X.;  that  on  the  west  is  believed  to  be 
of  the  fifteenth,  although  Its  portal  in  the  Plater- 
esque  style  is  later.  The  other  two  facades,  with 
the  great  court  and  imposing  staircase,  represent 
the  work  of  Charles  and  Philip.  That  on  the 
north,  the  earlier  of  the  two,  Is  richly  decorated 
after  the  Plateresque  fashion;  the  later  southern 
one  was  erected  from  designs  by  Juan  de  Herrera 
in  the  more  severe  Doric  style.  The  court  pre- 
sents double  rows  of  Corinthian  columns,  but  its 
size  and   simplicity  leave  it  also  cold  and  severe. 

268 


TOLEDO 

To-day  these  lofty  fagades  possess  considerable 
artistic  value  and  great  historical  significance,  but 
the  square  mass  of  the  Alcazar  which  towers 
above  everything  else  In  Toledo  can  only  be  re- 
garded as  a  discordant  note  In  a  picture  in  all 
other  respects  distinctively    mediaeval. 

Scarcely  second  to  the  high  spirit  of  the  ancient 
Toledans  themselves,  was  the  pride  of  her 
grandees,  the  old  VIsIgothIc  nobility,  which  waxed 
more  and  more  arrogant  as  the  fortunes  of  their 
city  declined.  One  day,  after  a  tournament.  King 
Charles  {V*)  was  returning  to  the  Alcazar 
through  the  narrow  and  tortuous  streets,  when  the 
press  of  his  attendants  threatened  to  block  the 
way.  A  zealous  sergeant,  who  was  especially  of- 
ficious In  attempts  to  force  a  passage  for  the  Em- 
peror, accidentally  struck  the  horse  of  the  Duke 
of  Infantado  with  his  baton.  That  haughty  gran- 
dee immediately  drew  his  sword  and  beat  the 
over-zealous  official.  Then  Charles,  resenting  such 
Insolence  In  his  presence,  ordered  RonquUlo,  the 
judge  of  the  court,  to  arrest  the  duke.  Ronqulllo 
advanced  to  obey,  but  the  Constable  of  Castile 
Interposed,  claiming  as  the  privilege  of  his  office 
the  right  of  jurisdiction  over  a  grandee.  So 
pleased  were  those  present  with  the  spirit  and  in- 
dependence of  the  official,  that  all  deserted  the 
Emperor  and  followed  the  Constable  with  loud 
applause  as  he  conducted  the  Duke  of  Infantado 

269 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

to  his  apartments.  Only  the  Cardinal  Tavera  was 
left  to  accompany  Charles  to  the  Alcazar. 

Once  again  the  Emperor  was  to  feel  the  prick 
of  Toledan  pride,  when  he  forced  upon  them  the 
entertainment  of  the  Due  de  Bourbon.  The  lat- 
ter had  come  to  offer  his  arms  to  the  Emperor, 
and  at  the  time  his  service  promised  to  be  of  the 
utmost  value.  Charles  himself  met  his  ally  with 
every  mark  of  honour  at  the  city  gate;  and,  placing 
him  upon  his  left  hand,  conducted  him  to  his 
apartments.  But  the  Toledans  detested  the  Due 
and  his  treason,  and  the  Marques  de  VUlena, 
whose  palace  had  been  requisitioned  for  the  use 
of  the  royal  guest,  well  voiced  the  popular  feel- 
ing when  he  replied  that  he  could  not  refuse  his 
sovereign,  but  that  his  house  should  be  burned  to 
the  ground  Immediately  after  his  guest  had  de- 
parted. 

That  expert  relic  hunter,  Philip  II.,  added  two 
of  Its  most  precious  shrines  to  Toledo.  The  first 
was  for  the  bones  of  her  first  archbishop,  Eu- 
genlus,  which  were  recovered  from  France  amid 
national  rejoicing.  The  second,  for  those  of  St. 
Leocadia,  which,  after  being  brought  from  Flan- 
ders, whither  In  some  mysterious  manner  they  are 
claimed  to  have  been  spirited,  were  received  with 
Imposing  ceremonials  at  the  Puerta  VIsagra.  So 
resplendent  a  procession  had  rarely  been  seen  In 
Toledo,   and  the   King  himself,   with   the   Infante, 

270 


tOLEDO 

Don  Carlos,  the  Infanta,  Dona  Isabella,  and 
other  members  of  the  royal  family,  all  in  stiff 
brocades  and  gleaming  jewels,  received  the  pre- 
cious  relics    in    the   porch    of   the    cathedral. 

A  few  years  later,  when  the  Prince  Don  Carlos 
came  of  age,  Philip  came  again  to  Toledo, 
whither  he  had  summoned  all  the  grandees  of 
Spain  to  swear  allegiance  to  his  heir.  For  the 
stately  ceremony  a  great  throne  was  erected  for 
Philip,  and  beside  it  one  for  the  young  Infante. 
The  long  line  of  grandees,  sumptuously  attired, 
passed  one  by  one,  bending  low  before  the  King 
and  his  son.  But  when  it  came  the  turn  of  the 
Duke  of  Alva,  the  Prince  was  ostentatiously  ig- 
nored. Don  Carlos  turned  his  sad  eyes  to  his 
father  and  inquired  "Whether  this  was  done  to 
his  liking?"  "No!"  replied  Philip,  and  sternly 
calling  Alva  back,  commanded  him  to  kneel.  But 
by  this  time  Don  Carlos  had  lost  his  temper,  too, 
and  refused  to  give  his  hand,  "And  from  that 
hour,"  says  the  historian,  "  dates  the  deadly  strife 
with  Alva,  which   ended  in   Don   Carlos'   death."* 

Such  were  the  shows  and  pageants  by  which 
Toledo  kept  up  the  semblance  of  her  former 
greatness,  but  except  in  the  inflated  imaginations 
of  her  own  citizens,   her  days  of  glory  were   fast 

^We  know  now  that  the  Duke  of  Alva  had  nothing  to  do  with 
the  sad  end  of  the  mad  prince,  but  many  strange  tales  were  written 
down  by  the  gossiping  scribes  of  that  day. 

271 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

departing.  Not  many  years  later,  her  chief  inter- 
est was  to  lie  in  her  splendid  past.  As  early  as 
the  seventeenth  century,  that  earliest  of  Spanish 
tourists,  the  French  Countess  de  Danois,  Madame 
d'Aulnoy,  made  a  pilgrimage  to  Toledo;  -and  her 
"  impressions  '*  depict  the  arrogant  old  city,  al- 
ready broken  and  deserted,  but  with  her  head  still 
in  the  clouds. 

Marianne,  the  widowed  queen  of  Philip  IV.,  was 
in  residence  at  Toledo,  where  she  occupied  the  old 
Alcazar;  and  the  clever  Frenchwoman  with  a  few 
ladies  of  the  Spanish  court  came  to  pay  her  a 
visit.  Madame  d'Aulnoy,  to  whom  the  journey 
was  one  of  curiosity  as  well,  describes  Toledo  as 
surrounded  by  hills  and  rocks,  from  which,  she 
remarks,  "  it  would  be  easy  with  gunpowder  to 
batter  It  down."  The  city  Itself  she  describes  as 
"built  on  a  rock  whose  unevenness  made  it  high 
and  low  In  places";  and  the  streets  were  found 
so  narrow  that  the  travellers  were  obliged  to  halt 
their  coach  in  the  great  square  of  Zocodover. 

After  the  fashion  of  more  modern  tourists, 
these  titled  ladies  went  at  once  to  see  the  famous 
cathedral,  which  they  had  heard  was  the  finest 
In  Europe.  "The  Spaniards  call  it  holy,"  the 
Countess  continues,  "whether  on  account  of  the 
relics  which  are  there,  or  for  some  other  reason 
which  they  did  not  tell  me,  I  know  not."  Then, 
evidently  comparing  it  with  French  churches:  "If 

27a 


TOLEDO 

It  were  as  long  and  high  as  It  Is  broad  It  would 
be  much  better."  "The  divers  chapels  by  which 
It  Is  beautified  are  as  big  as  churches,  and  they  all 
shine  with  gold  and  paintings;  the  chief  of  which 
are  those  of  the  Virgin,  St.  Martin,  St.  James, 
Cardinal  Sandoval,  and  the  Constable  de  Luna. 
In  the  choir  I  saw  a  niche  or  a  hollow  place, 
from  whence  It  Is  pretended  there  issued  out  for 
several  days  together  a  spring  of  water,  In  the 
time  they  maintained  the  sieges  against  the  Moors, 
when  they  were  half  dead  with  thirst.  Without 
digressing  from  my  subject,  I  must  tell  you  that 
in  the  city  there  is  not  so  much  as  a  well  or 
spring,  and  that  they  fetch  all  their  water  from 
the  Tagus,  which  Is  so  very  troublesome  that  one 
would  wonder  how  Toledo  comes  to  be  so  full 
of  people  as  It  Is.  Near  the  entrance  Into  the 
church  there  Is  a  marble  pillar  which  they  rever- 
ence because  the  holy  Virgin  appeared  upon  it  to 
St.  Ildefonso.  It  Is  enclosed  with  an  Iron  gate, 
and  through  a  little  window  they  kiss  It.  I  was 
amazed  when  I  saw  the  treasury.  There  must  be 
thirty  men  to  carry  the  tabernacle  upon  Corpus- 
Chrlstl  day.  It  is  made  of  silver,  gilt,  and  there 
Is  exquisitely  wrought  upon  it  several  spires  or 
steeples,  with  abundance  of  angels  and  cherublms. 
W^Ithln  this  there  Is  also  another  of  massy  gold, 
and  such  a  vast  quantity  of  precious  stones  that 
their  value  Is  Inestimable;  the  chalices,  the  patlns, 

273 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

and  the  pyxes,  are  no  less  beautiful.  Indeed  every- 
thing shines  with  great  diamonds  and  oriental 
pearls;  the  sun,  where  the  holy  sacrament  is  kept, 
the  crowns,  and  robes  of  the  Virgin  are  the  most 
splendid  things  I  ever  saw  in  my  days.'*  "  I 
have  told  you  that  the  bishopric  of  Toledo  pro- 
duced three  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  crowns  a 
year.  I  must  now  add  that  the  revenue  of  the 
church   itself   is   a   hundred   thousand   crowns.'' 

News  of  the  arrival  of  these  distinguished  vis- 
itors having  been  carried  to  his  eminence,  Porto 
Carrero,  the  Cardinal-Archbishop,  an  invitation 
which  brooked  no  denial  was  at  once  sent  to  them 
to  reside  during  their  stay  in  the  Archiepiscopal 
palace.  With  the  invitation  came  "  an  abundance 
\  of  pages,"  some  carrying  umbrellas  of  gold  and 
silver  brocade;  others  to  perform  the  task  of 
watering  the  street  which  the  ladies  had  to  cross 
from  the  church  to  the  palace.  This  was  accom- 
plished with  the  aid  of  two  mules  who  drew  a 
little  cart  upon  which  was  a  tub  full  of  water. 
In  this  way,  they  were  told,  it  was  the  custom  to 
water  the  way  every  time  a  Cardinal  went  to 
church,  also  that  the  gorgeous  umbrellas  were 
those  used  to   defend  him   from  the  sun. 

Spanish  dress  was  necessary  for  the  visit  to  the 
Queen,  and  the  plump  Countess  endured  tortures 
in  squeezing  her  rather  ample  proportions  into  its 
narrow  and  rigid  lines.    *'  I  do  not  think  there  can 

274 


TOLEDO 

be  a  more  troublesome  dress,"  she  laments. — "  Your 
shoulders  must  be  squeezed  so  that  It  hurts  you; 
you  cannot  lift  up  your  arm,  nor  can  you  hardly 
get  It  Into  the  sleeve.  I  had  on  a  farthingale  of 
a  prodigious  bigness  (for  you  must  wear  that  in 
the  Queen's  presence),  I  knew  not  what  to  do 
with  myself  with  this  strange  Invention;  there  Is 
no  sitting  down  In  It,  and  I  believe  If  I  were  to 
wear  It  all  my  life  I  should  never  be  reconciled 
to  It.  My  head  was  dressed  after  the  Melene 
fashion;  that  Is,  the  hair  all  spread  over  the  neck 
and  tied  at  the  ends  with  some  nonpareil  ribbon; 
this  Is  a  great  deal  hotter  than  a  patlne;  so  that 
being  now  In  the  month  of  August,  and  In  Spain, 
you  may  easily  guess  how  I  suffer.  But  this  being 
a  ceremonial  dress  of  the  head,  there  was  nothing 
to  be  omitted  upon  such  an  occasion;  besides,  I 
wore  their  pattens,  which  are  more  fit  to  break  a 
person's  neck  than  to  walk  with." 

When  all  were  ready  for  royal  inspection  they 
were  fortified  for  their  reception  by  an  elaborate 
repast:  for,  although  they  were  to  have  the  honour 
of  seeing  the  Queen  dine,  nothing  more  satisfying 
could  be  vouchsafed  them  in  the  royal  presence. 
But  the  food  offered  by  the  hospitality  of  the 
Cardinal  was  so  highly  seasoned  that  the  French 
woman  avowed  ''  she  fancied  herself  like  Tanta- 
lus in  the  midst  of  plenty,  and  yet  starved  with 
hunger."     Arnber,    saffron,    garlic,    onion,    pepper, 

275 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

and  spices  appear  to  have  entered  into  the  per- 
fumed sauces,  and  rendered  them  fairly  impos- 
sible to  a  strange  palate.  Madame  was  only 
saved  from  starvation  by  the  dessert,  which  was 
not  only  delicious,  but  extremely  decorative.  "The 
fruit  was  the  best  and  pleasantest  thing  one  can 
see,  for  whole  trees  with  their  fruit  were  iced  over 
with  sugar,  after  the  Italian  way.  There  were 
orange  trees  thus  ordered,  with  small  artificial 
birds  fastened  in  them.  There  were  likewise 
cherry  trees,  raspberry  and  gooseberry  bushes,  and 
others  set  in  little  cases  of  silver.'* 

The  ladies  were  carried  to  the  Alcazar  in  chairs. 
They  found  it  build  upon  a  rock.  Before  its  gate 
there  was  a  large  square;  and,  upon  entering,  there 
was  a  court  one  hundred  and  sixty  feet  long  by 
one  hundred  and  thirty  broad,  adorned  with  two 
rows  of  colonnades  whose  pillars  were  monoliths. 
But  that  which  pleased  the  countess  most  was  the 
staircase  fifty  feet  wide,  at  the  bottom  of  the 
court.  Then  she  says:  "After  you  have  gone  up 
some  steps  it  parts  in  two,  and  to  speak  the 
truth,  I  believe  it  to  be  one  of  the  finest  in 
Europe. "  .  They  passed  through  a  great  gallery 
and  several  vast  apartments  and  found  the  Queen- 
mother  in  a  great  hall  whose  windows  were  all 
open,  from  which  one  had  a  prospect  to  the  val- 
leys and  the  river. 

The  Queen  received  her  guests  most  graciously, 

276 


^^"i, 


Marianne   of   Austria.     Velasquez, 

'  Museo   del  Prado,   Madrid. 


TOLEDO 

allowing  them  to  kiss  her  hand,  which  was  ex- 
tremely delicate.  The  Countess  describes  her  as 
very  pale,  her  face  a  little  long  and  flat,  and  her 
stature  of  a  middling  size.  Like  all  Spanish 
widows,  she  was  dressed  like  a  nun,  without  so 
much  as  one  hair  appearing.  "And  there  are 
many,''  Madame  observes,  ("though  she  is  not 
of  that  number)  that  cause  all  their  hair  to  be 
cut  off  when  they  lose  their  husbands,  for  a 
greater  expression  of  their  grief. "  It  was  also 
noticed  that  her  majesty's  gown  was  tucked  up 
quite  round  according  to  the  fashion  of  the  coun- 
try, so  that  it  might  be  let  down  as  it  wore 
out. 

After  a  little  time  given  to  gracious  conver- 
sation, the  Queen  was  invited  to  her  supper  by  a 
little  she  dwarf  "  thick  as  a  tun,  and  no  taller 
than  a  good  big  mushroom,  clothed  all  in  gold 
and  silver  brocade,  and  with  long  hair  hanging 
down  to  her  feet. "  The  ladies  offered  to  with- 
draw, but  the  Queen  told  them  that  they  might 
follow  her.  Then  she  went  into  a  parlour,  all  of 
marble,  where  she  sat  down  at  a  table  alone,  and 
they  all  stood  around  her.  Melons  cooled  with  ice, 
with  some  salads  and  milk,  formed  the  first 
course.  Then  the  Queen  called  for  a  drink  which 
was  brought  by  a  Menine  who  knelt  and  gave  it 
to  the  Camerera.  The  latter  also  kneeled  when 
the   Queen    took    it    from   her   hand;    and   on    the 

277 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

other  side  a  Lady  of  the  Palace,  on  her  knee, 
presented  a  napkin  to  the  Queen,  with  which  to 
wipe  her  mouth. 

The  solitary  repast  occupied  an  hour  and  a 
half,  a  period  doubtless  much  less  tedious  to  the 
royal  diner  than  to  her  guests,  who  were  obliged 
to  continue  standing  while  she  ate.  Following 
the  earlier  Tantalus  feast,  this  ordeal  must  have 
left  the  Countess  In  a  state  bordering  upon  ex- 
haustion, and  one  does  not  wonder  that  she 
found  the  theatrical  entertainment,  provided  by  the 
Cardinal  upon  their  return  to  the  Archlepiscopal 
palace,  extremely  poor.  The  arrangement  of  the 
audience,  the  men  and  women  separated  by  a  cur- 
tain stretched  the  length  of  the  room,  was  also 
not  at  all  to  the  taste  of  the  vivacious  French- 
woman. 

The  next  day  a  second  visit  was  paid  to  the 
Alcazar,  this  time  not  to  see  the  Queen,  but  the 
castle  Itself.  Madame  found  it  very  stately,  so 
that  she  did  not  wonder  that  Charles  V.  pre- 
ferred to  live  there  rather  than  in  any  other  city 
under  his  obedience.  But  the  great  pile  was  al- 
ready in  disrepair.  A  powerful  hydraulic  ma- 
chine, built  and  worked  by  the  Moors,  had 
furnished  the  Alcazar,  and  much  of  the  city,  with 
the  water  which  had  rendered  cleanliness  pos- 
sible, and  Toledo's  gardens  a  delight.  Earlier  al- 
lowed to  become  useless,  It  had  been  repaired  by 

278 


TOLEDO 

the  Emperor,  but  was  again  In  ruins,  and  now 
was  only  shown  as  a  curious  broken  toy.  Little 
of  the  palace  was  In  use,  and  everywhere  were 
signs  of  neglect  and  decay. 

Besides  the  natural  decline  caused  by  her  loss 
of  royal  favour,  Toledo  suffered  much,  during  the 
early  years  of  the  eighteenth  century,  from  the 
wars  of  succession;  and  In  the  nineteenth,  no  city 
In  Spain,  except  only  Saragossa,  was  so  hardly 
treated  by  Napoleon^s  armies.  Later  still  came 
her  crowning  misfortune.  In  the  appropriation  by 
the  state  of  a  large  part  of  her  enormous  ecclesi- 
astical revenues;  the  last  remaining  prop  of  her 
grandeur.  Despoiled  of  that,  and  too  proud  and 
Impractical  to  save  herself  by  work,  the  city  which 
once  numbered  one  hundred  thousand  souls  has 
dwindled  to-day  to  twenty  thousand;  and  the  sole 
remaining  evidence  of  the  lofty  spirit  of  her  Iberic 
builders,  save  only  In  the  monuments  they  have 
left,  Is  found  In  the  pride  which  prefers  beggary 
to  labour,  and  In  an  atmosphere  whose  mediaeval 
aloofness  Is  unmatched  in  Europe. 


279 


Chapter  XII 
CORDOVA 

"  ALTHOUGH  other  cities  may  be  better  to 
/-\  live  in,  none  are  better  to  be  born  in 
than  Cordova."  So  declared  her  greatest 
son,  "  El  Gran  Capitan,''  voicing  the  long- 
vaunted  claim  of  his  native  city  to  the  bluest 
blood  in  Spain.  Added  to  this  pride  of  blood  is 
the  memory  of  one  glorious  period  during  which 
Cordova  not  only  dominated  the  peninsula,  but 
became  the  centre  of  civilization  In  Europe,  and 
indeed  in  all  the  Western  world  as  it  was  then 
known. 

Yet  in  spite  of  patrician  blood  and  past  mag- 
nificence, the  aspect  of  Cordova  to-day  gives  little 
indication  of  any  period  of  civic  greatness  or 
worldly  splendour.  Its  streets  are  quaintly  pictur- 
esque, and  its  mosque  remains  one  of  the  wonders 
of  the  world;  yet  one's  first  and  abiding  impres- 
sion is  of  an  unimportant  provincial  town  with  a 
commonplace  past  and  no  possible  future.  One 
enjoys  wandering  in  its  crooked,  grass-grown 
streets;  catching  glimpses  through  open  portals 
of  marble  patios  with  their  fountains  and  flowers; 
and  one  never  tires  of  the  singular  charm  of  its 

280 


yista  in  Mosque,  Cordova, 


CORDOVA 

splendid  mosque.  But  beyond  these,  and  the  old 
bridge,  which  dates  from  Roman  days,  Cordova, 
as  seen  to-day,  is  comparatively  modern.  The 
glories  of  Its  past  must  perforce  belong  to  another 
Cordova,  as  In  fact  they  do — to  a  city  long  since 
vanished.  But,  after  all,  Is  not  this  vanished  city 
the  only  real  Cordova,  Its  life  the  only  vital  page 
In  her  history? 

Such,  at  least,  it  must  appear  to  those  who  read 
the  brilliant  pages  of  Arab  chroniclers,  whose 
florid  pens  recall  scenes  of  the  most  vivid  splendour, 
and  men  thrilling  with  the  most  passionate  life. 
The  dramas  which  they  unfold  have  nothing  to 
do  with  the  sordid  little  town  of  the  present, 
but  belong  to  the  Cordova  which  they  rebuild 
in  our  Imagination,  and  whose  history  is  practi- 
cally told  In  one  glorious  period;  one  beginning 
with  the  elevation,  and  ending  with  the  overthrow, 
of  the  house  of  Omeya  as  sovere'Igns  of  Moslem 
Spain. 

Only  a  few  glimpses  of  Cordova  are  to  be  found 
during  the  Carthaginian  and  Roman  periods.  Un- 
der the  rule  of  Rome,  the  town  came  to  possess 
a  degree  of  Importance,  becoming  the  capital  of 
Ulterior  Spain.  From  its  early  population  by 
the  Impoverished  patricians  of  Rome,  it  was  then 
known  as  Patricia.  Here  doubtless  Is  the  origin 
of  Cordova's  boasted  blue  blood.  But  in  spite 
of    its    influx    of    Roman    Inhabitants,    and    their 

28l 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

lofty  claims  to  distinction,  Its  Iberic  name,  from 
Cor^  or  Karta,  tuba,  meaning  important  city,  has 
survived. 

Under  the  Visigoths,  Cordova  lost  the  degree 
of  importance  it  had  possessed  under  the  Romans, 
and  the  town  practically  sank  out  of  sight  until 
taken,  in  711,  by  the  Moslems.  So  weakened 
were  its  defences,  and  Ineffective  its  defenders, 
that  a  small  detachment  of  Tarik's  army  found 
an  easy  entrance  by  way  of  a  fig  tree  which 
stood  near  its  wall.  Upon  a  dark  and  stormy 
night,  an  active  soldier  climbed  into  Its  branches 
and,  by  means  of  his  unrolled  turban,  drew  up 
others   who   were   quickly   over  the  barriers. 

By  morning  the  city  was  in  the  hands  of  the 
Moslem  invaders.  The  governor  and  four  hun- 
dred of  the  garrison  fled  to  the  church  of  St. 
George,  outside  of  the  western  wall.  The  church 
was  strongly  fortified,  surrounded  by  a  moat,  and 
supplied  with  water  from  a  mountain  spring  by 
means  of  subterranean  pipes.  There  this  small 
force  rendered  the  only  effective  resistance  offered 
by  the  city.  But  with  the  discovery  and  cutting 
off  of  their  water  supply,  they  were  also  obliged 
to  capitulate. 

During  the  forty-five  years  which  immediately 
followed  its  subjugation  to  Moslem  rule,  the  his- 
tory  of    Cordova    presents    little    to    distinguish    It 

282 


CORDOVA 

from  a  number  of  other  cities  of  the  south  of 
Spain.  The  courts  of  rapidly  succeeding  emirs 
were*  as  often  found  at  Seville  or  elsewhere,  as 
at  Cordova,  and  the  latter,  like  every  other  con- 
siderable city  of  Spain,  was  subject  to  sieges  or 
revolutions  in  the  interests  of  rival  claimants  to 
power.  One  of  the  early  emirs  repaired  the  old 
bridge,  built  during  the  reign  of  Augustus;  and 
some  restorations  of  the  walls  were  rendered  neces- 
sary by  the  unsettled  state  of  the  country;  but 
during  all  this  period,  life  consisted  of  little  more 
than  a  struggle  for  bare  existence. 

The  rise  of  Cordova's  importance  begins  in  this 
the  darkest  hour  of  "her  history;  and  its  jRrst  im- 
pulse is  found  in  the  historic  assemblage  within 
her  walls,  of  eighty  Syrian  sheiks,  to  whom  the 
messenger  of  the  young  Omeyad  prince,  Abd-al- 
Rahman,  brought  his  master's  claims  of  sov- 
ereignty. Lafuente,  in  an  address  before  the 
Royal  Academy  of  History,  of  Madrid,  thus 
apostrophizes  the  patriotic  assemblage:  "Every 
time  that  I  reflect  upon  them,  my  regard  in- 
creases for  those  eighty  venerable  Mussulmans  with 
their  long  white  beards,  chiefs  of  as  many  tribes, 
who  congregated  themselves  in  assembly  at  Cor- 
dova to  discuss  means  whereby  Moslem  Spain 
might  be  saved  from  the  troubles  into  which  she 
then   was  plunged;    and  who   finally   projected  the 

283 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

foundation    of   a    great   empire,    independent    alike 
of  Asia  and  Africa." 

Following  the  overthrow  of  the  house  of  Omeya 
at  Damascus,  the  usurper,  Abbas,  fearing  an  at- 
tempt to  reinstate  them  In  the  caliphate,  had 
attempted  to  Insure  himself  against  It  by  a  whole- 
sale murder  of  the  entire  family.  The  usual 
oriental  methods  were  followed  In  the^  horrid 
deed.  A  banquet  was  prepared,  with  the  promise 
of  amnesty  to  all  the  Omeyad  princes  who  should 
attend.  Through  absence  from  the  court,  Abd- 
al-Rahman  and  one  brother  were  saved,  and  the 
noble  Abd-al-Rahman  was  to  prove  the  flower  of 
his  house,  and  one  of  the  greatest  rulers  ever 
produced  by  his  race. 

After  being  warned  of  the  death  of  his 
brethren,  Abd-al-Rahman  succeeded  in  reaching 
Africa,  where  he  was  sheltered  by  wandering  tribes 
of  exiled  Arabs.  Later,  when  tracked  by  the  em- 
issaries of  the  Caliph,  the  quick  wit  of  his  hosts 
enabled  him  to  fly  again  to  Mauritania.  There 
word  was  brought  of  the  extreme  disorder  to 
which  the  Spanish  Moslems  were  reduced.  A 
trusty  messenger  was  at  once  despatched  by  Abd- 
al-Rahman,  who  was  empowered  to  seek  out  the 
adherents  of  the  house  of  Omeya,  and  claim  for 
him  the  throne  of  Spain.  The  above  assembly 
with   its  invitation   to   Abd-al-Rahman  was   quickly 

284 


CORDOVA 

followed  by  his  landing  on  the  coast  of  Andalusia. 
Many  of  the  southern  cities  appear  to  have  opened 
their  gates  to  the  young  conqueror,  but  at  Cor- 
dova, Abd-al-Rahman  had  to  encounter  the  army  of 
the  Caliph,  under  the  Emir,  Yussef  ben  Fehri. 

The  Issue  of  the  battle,  which  occurred  outside 
the  walls  of  the  city,  appears  to  have  been  decided 
quite  as  much  by  the  division  and  distrust  which  pre- 
vailed in  the  army  of  the  Emir,  as  by  the  warlike 
prowess  of  that  of  Abd-al-Rahman.  So  little  con- 
fidence had  the  forces  of  Yussef  In  his  Integrity, 
that  he  Is  said  to  have  been  obliged  to  exchange 
his  war-horse  for  an  old  and  crippled  mule,  to 
avoid  the  suspicion  of  intent  to  abandon  his  fol- 
lowers In  the  event  of  disaster.  The  siege  of  the 
city  at  once  followed  the  defeat  of  her  army. 
Yussef  made  a  vain  effort  to  relieve  It,  and  the 
Inhabitants  maintained  as  stubborn  a  resistance  as 
they  were  able,  but  Abd-al-Rahman's  successes 
elsewhere  soon  convinced  them  that  the  Abbas- 
slde  cause  was  hopeless,  and  a  capitulation  was 
arranged  on  terms  of  marked  advantage  to  the 
town. 

As  Cordova  had  been  the  residence  of  Yussef's 
court,  and  was  regarded  at  that  time  as  the  capi- 
tal of  Moslem  Spain,  its  surrender  was  considered 
to  have  founded  the  sovereignty  of  Abd-al-Rah- 
man in  the  peninsula.  Yet  there  remained  many 
other  cities  to  be  subdued,   and  for  a  number  of 

285 


BUILDERS  OE  SPAIN 

years,  Yussef  and  his  sons,  as  well  as  later  Emirs 
who  were  armed  with  the  authority  of  the  Ab- 
basslde  caliphs,  menaced  his  growing  power.  For 
a  time,  therefore,  Cordova  became  primarily  the 
headquarters  of  an  army  which  had  no  sooner 
returned  with  the  spoils  of  one  campaign  than  It 
took  the  field  again  upon  another;  marching  In 
and  out  of  the  gates  of  the  city,  at  the  back  of 
the  vigorous  young  King,  whose  able  generalship 
and  personal  magnetism  soon  rendered  him  the 
Idol  of  his  followers. 

Although  in  his  dealings  with  subjugated  cities 
Abd-al-Rahman  was  often  conspicuously  generous, 
he  was  equally  severe  In  his  punishment  of  pro- 
longed resistance.  Look,  for  example,  at  the  piti- 
able figures  of  the  leaders  of  Toledo's  stubborn 
opposition,  as  they  were  paraded  through  the 
streets  of  Cordova.  Some  distance  outside  the 
walls  they  had  been  met  by  a  tailor,  a  barber, 
and  a  basket-maker.  The  tailor  had  made  them 
strait-jackets  of  coarse  cloth;  the  barber  had 
shaved  their  hair  and  beards;  and  the  basket- 
maker  had  encased  the  body  of  each  in  a  narrow 
pannier  which  effectually  prevented  any  movement 
of  the  lower  limbs.  Slung  across  the  backs  of 
donkeys,  these  patriotic  Toledans  were  made  the 
victims  of  the  taunts  and  missiles  of  a  street  mob; 
then  dragged  to  the  place  of  execution,  where  they 
were  crucified;  after  which  their  heads  were  added 

286 


CORDOVA 

to  the  ghastly  rows  of  those  of  other  "rebels'' 
upon  the  city  walls.  The  defenders  of  Carmona 
were  subjected  to  even  harsher  measures,  after 
which  the  heads  of  their  leaders  were  packed  in 
camphor  and  salt,  with  a  label  fastened  to  each 
ear,  and  sent  as  a  menace  to  the  Abbasside  Emir 
at   Kairouan. 

Personal  magnificence  early  became  a  necessary 
adjunct  to  Moslem  power  in  Spain,  and  the  im- 
provement and  embellishment  of  his  capital  occu- 
pied a  place  scarcely  second  to  the  subjugation 
of  the  peninsula,  in  the  labours  of  Abd-al-Rahman. 
It  naturally  followed  that  Damascus,  the  home  of 
his  race,  should  be  regarded  as  the  model  upon 
which  many  of  the  institutions  of  the  new  seat 
of  power  were  to  be  formed.  Not  only  did  the 
authority  of  the  Syrian  Arabs  long  preponderate  In 
Spain,  but  the  population  of  Cordova,  and  espe- 
cially the  train  of  the  young  sovereign,  were 
largely  made  up  of  exiles  from  Damascus  itself. 
During  the  entire  period  of  the  Kingdom  of 
Cordova,  a  close  and  significant  relationship  between 
the  two  cities  was  maintained. 

The  narrow  labyrinthine  streets  of  Cordova, 
with  many  buildings  and  fortifications,  soon  repro- 
duced In  effect  those  of  Damascus.  During  the 
reign  of  Abd-al-Rahman  I.  the  streets  were  paved, 
and  water  was  brought  from  the  mountains  in 
leaden  pipes.     With  a  bountiful   supply  of  water, 

287 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

luxuriant  gardens  and  fruitful  orchards,  the  crown- 
ing delight  of  the  Eastern  capital,  became  likewise 
the  chief  beauty  of  the  Western  one.  Even  the 
coins  of  the  Cordovan  mint  were  identical  in  size, 
weight,  and  inscription,  with  those  issued  by  the 
Omeyad  princes  of  Damascus.  As  after  the  Mos- 
lem conquest  of  Damascus,  the  chief  Christian 
church  at  Cordova  was  at  first  shared  between 
the  conquerors  and  the  conquered;  furthermore,  in 
its  rebuilding,  begun  during  this  reign,  certain 
features  of  the  splendid  new  mosque  of  the  East- 
ern capital  were  to  produce  a  strong  influence. 

The  old  Gothic  palace  to  the  southwest  of  the 
city,  near  the  river,  which  the  Moslems  called  the 
Balatt  Ludheric,  or  Castle  of  Roderick,  had  been 
made  the  oflicial  residence  of  the  early  emirs, 
and  later  was  that  of  Abd-al-Rahman.  Doubt- 
less it  had  belonged  to  Theodofred,  Duke  of 
Cordova,  father  of  King  Roderick.  Rebuildings 
and  additions  w^ere  begun  by  Abd-al-Rahman,  and 
continued  under  most  of  his  successors;  the  castle 
thus  transformed  remaining  the  chief  seat  of  Mos- 
lem power  during  the  entire  period  of  the  Omeyad 
kings.  In  it  was  erected  the  throne  of  the  King, 
and  there  daily  was  assembled  the  Divan  or  Coun- 
cil, which  deliberated  with  him  upon  the  admin- 
istration of  the  affairs  of  the  kingdom. 

For  the  sake  of  the  instruction  it  afforded  them 
in  the  business  of  government,  all  of  Abd-al-Rah- 

288 


CORDOVA 

man's  forty-four  sons  were  compelled  to  attend 
the  regular  sittings  of  this  Divan.  The  further 
education  of  these  sons  was  most  carefully  looked 
after  by  the  King  himself,  who  frequently  called 
upon  them  to  participate  in  the  literary  contests 
which  early  became  a  feature  of  court  life.  As 
women  were  allowed  much  greater  freedom  and 
accorded  far  higher  honour  by  the  Syrians  than 
by  any  other  Moslem  people,  It  is  quite  possible 
that  Abd-al-Rahman's  forty-two  daughters  were 
also  allowed  attendance  upon  these  occasions. 
Such  contests,  always  popular  In  Cordova,  were 
doubtless  a  survival  of  the  patronage  extended  to 
wandering  story-tellers  by  the  Bedouin  Arabs,  but 
transformed  by  the  Cordovan  sovereign  into  gala 
court  functions.  The  King  himself  presided,  and 
rich  rewards  were  bestowed  for  talent  or  profi- 
ciency in  the  formation  of  verse,  and  for  attain- 
ments in  any  branch  of  intellectual   endeavour. 

By  means  of  a  wall  or  embankment,  Abd-al- 
Rahman  narrowed  the  broad  and  shallow  bed  of 
the  Guadalquiver  near  his  palace,  and  the  land 
thus  rescued  he  transformed  into  a  beautiful  gar- 
den In  which  he  built  a  tower.  There  was  also 
a  suburban  villa,  the  famous  Rusafah,  modelled 
and  named  after  a  similar  retreat  which  had  be- 
longed to  his  grandfather,  Hixem,  at  Damascus. 
It  was  in  this  garden  of  Rusafah  that  Abd-al- 
Rahman  planted  the  first  palm  seen  in  Spain.     To 

289 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

it  he  addressed  the  melancholy  lines  which  are 
still  quoted  as  evidence  of  his  poetical  ability, 
but  even  more,  as  showing  the  King's  unconquer- 
able longing  for  the  land  of  his  birth. 

As  was  to  be  expected,  the  early  popularity  of 
Abd-al-Rahman  was  largely  lost  during  his  later 
years.  The  mixed  and  discordant  elements,  of 
which  his  kingdom  was  composed,  often  rendered 
the  most  severe  measures  necessary.  Despotic 
power  has  always  maintained  Itself  by  force,  and 
long  before  his  death  Abd-al-Rahman  found  It  nec- 
essary to  seclude  himself  after  the  manner  of 
most  oriental  monarchs.  He  was  even  forced  to, 
protect  his  movements  in  public  by  a  strong 
guard. 

Berber  pretensions,  or  insolence,  constantly  re- 
quired to  be  put  down.  The  Spanish  Christians, 
likewise,  early  began  to  show  insubordination.  Al- 
though allowed  the  free  practice  of  their  own 
rites,  the  one  requirement  of  the  Moslem  rulers — 
that  they  should  refrain  from  reviling  Mahomet — 
soon  appeared  to  the  Christian  priesthood  to  be 
a  courtesy  incompatible  with  the  stern  precepts 
of  the  faith,  and  public  indignities  were  soon 
offered  to  the  name  of  the  prophet.  The  execu- 
tion of  a  few  offenders  was  followed  by  a  furore 
for  the  honours  of  martyrdom;  and  scores  of  vic- 
tims considered  themselves  happy  in  forcing  the 
Moslem   sovereign   to   offer   them   up   as   sacrifices 

290 


CORDOVA 

to  what  they  called  their  faith,  but  which  was 
more  properly  their  intolerance  and  incivility. 
That  the  outrages  of  these  zealots  were  not  up- 
held by  all  Christians  is  hinted,  even  by  the 
bigoted  Mariana,  who  says  that  *' Abd-al-Rahman, 
with  many  Christians  assembled  in  synod  agree' 
ing  with  him,   put  the   offenders   to   death." 

Until  786,  the  chief  place  of  Moslem  assem- 
blage for  public  prayer  in  Cordova  remained  in 
half  of  the  Christian  church  of  St.  Vincent.  With 
the  rapid  growth  of  the  city,  which  followed  the 
establishment  of  the  power  of  Abd-al-Rahman, 
especially  when  we  consider  the  other  works  un- 
dertaken, it  seems  remarkable  that  he  should  have 
reigned  thirty  years  before  beginning  the  erection 
of  a  more  commodious  and  suitable  edifice.  Then, 
too,  the  great  distance  from  the  chief  shrines  of 
the  faith,  rendered  expedient  the  early  establish- 
ment of  some  Spanish  centre  to  serve  as  a  point 
for  those  religious  pilgrimages  which  formed  so 
essential  a  feature  of  mediaeval  piety.  This  dual 
need,  the  mosque,  begun  in  786,  was  Intended 
to  supply,  and,  when  once  he  had  set  about  it, 
Abd-al-Rahman  employed  all  possible  means  to 
accelerate  its  progress.  As  no  other  site  seemed 
so  desirable  as  that  of  the  Christian  cathedral,^ 
purchase    of    rights    in    the    half    of   the    structure 

^A  Roman  temple  dedicated  to  Janus  had  earlier  occupied  this 
site. 

291 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

remaining  to  the  Christians,  had  first  to  be 
arranged.  A  hundred  thousand  dinars,  with  the 
privilege  of  erecting  a  certain  number  of  churches 
elsewhere,  having  been  accepted  by  them,  the  old 
edifice  was  at  once  razed  to  the  ground.  Then 
Abd-al-Rahman  himself  traced  the  plan  of  the 
new  mosque,  and  with  his  own  hands  laid  the  first 
stone  of  its  foundation. 

I  The  ground  plan  outlined  by  Abd-al-Rahman 
did  not  follow  the  basilican  form  of  the  great 
mosque  at  Damascus,  but  that  of  the  arcaded 
court  of  the  mosques  of  Amru  at  Cairo,  and 
Okbar  at  Kairouan.  This  simpler  form  was 
doubtless  chosen  by  Abd-al-Rahman  because  of  the 
lack  of  either  Arab  or  Spanish  workmen  of  suffi- 
cient ability  to  cope  with  the  complex  construction 
of  vaults  or  domes.  Also,  following  the  early 
custom  of  Arab  builders  elsewhere,  the  materials 
used  in  the  erection  of  the  mosque  were  largely 
the  remains  of  the  earlier  edifice  it  replaced,  to- 
gether with  columns  and  cut  stone  from  Roman 
ruins  elsewhere.  J 

But  Abd-al-Rahman  was  already  oppressed  witK 
years  when  he  began  his  mosque;  and  although 
he  prosecuted  the  work  with  feverish  activity  dur- 
ing the  two  years  remaining  to  him,  labouring  upon 
it  for  an  hour  each  day  with  his  own  hands,  it 
is  probable  that  little  more  had  been  accomplished, 
before   he   saw   his    end   was   drawing   near,    than 

292 


CORDOVA 

the  collection  of  a  mass  of  materials  and  the 
erection  of  a  portion  of  the  walls.  Then  the 
venerable  sovereign  caused  a  space  to  be  cleared 
within  his  enclosure,  hung  his  half-built  walls 
with  tapestries,  and,  mounting  to  a  mimber  under 
a  great  awning  spread  to  protect  his  enfeebled 
frame  from  the  heat  of  the  southern  sun,  read 
the  first  service  In  the  mosque  he  was  not  to 
see  completed.  Standing  tall  and  majestic  In  his 
flowing  white  robes,  his  face  furrowed  by  the 
strong  lines  produced  by  an  Imperious  character 
and  vigorous  life,  his  piercing  eyes  shaded  by  the 
ample  folds  of  his  white  turban,  Abd-al-Rahman 
saw  beneath  him  a  vast  concourse  of  people 
hurriedly  gathered  from  all  the  region  within 
reach  of  his  hasty  summons;  while  beyond  their 
forms,  prostrate  in  prayer,  were  the  heaps  of  cut 
stone  and  precious  columns,  which  to-day  are 
among  the  chief  glories  of  the  great  mosque  he 
founded. 

Abd-al-Rahman  then  called  together,  in  order 
to  claim  their  oaths  of  allegiance  to  his  successor, 
the  walls  of  the  six  great  provinces  of  his  king- 
dom, Toledo,  Saragossa,  Valencia,  Granada, 
Merlda,  and  Murcia;  together  with  those  of  the 
six  cities  next  In  Importance.  As  was  expected, 
the  King's  choice  fell  upon  Hlxem,  his  son  by 
his  favourite  wife  Howara,  sometimes  also  called 
Holal.     During  an  Interval  of  peace,  this  beautl- 

293 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

ful  Sultana  had  been  given  as  a  slave  to  Abd- 
al-Rahman,  by  his  old  enemy,  Yussef  ben  Fehri. 
She  had  speedily  become  his  favourite  concubine; 
and  her  son,  the  first  child  born  to  Abd-al-Rah- 
man  at  Cordova,  had  been  reared  with  especial 
care.  As  far  as  his  own  character  was  concerned, 
Hlxem  soon  proved  the  wisdom  of  his  father's 
choice.  But  Abd-al-Rahman  set  a  dangerous  prec- 
edent in  Ignoring  the  laws  of  primogeniture, 
thereby  laying  the  foundation  for  much  of  the 
Intestine  strife  which  disturbed  the  reign  of 
Hixcm,  and  finally  contributed  very  largely  to  the 
overthrow    of   his    dynasty. 

Although  Hlxem  sent  a  few  armies  against 
the  Christians  in  the  north,  one  of  which  achieved 
a  measure  of  success  beyond  the  Pyrenees,  at 
Narbonne,  his  own  efforts,  during  his  short  reign 
of  eight  years,  were  largely  employed  In  the  care 
and  Improvement  of  his  capital.  Like  his  father, 
he  laboured  daily  with  his  own  hands  upon  the 
unfinished  mosque;  and  after  expending  upon  It 
one  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  dinars,  he  lived 
to  see  It  completed.  Hlxem  Is  also  said  to  have 
rebuilt  or  repaired  the  old  Roman  bridge,  and 
to  have  erected  many  buildings  and  public  works, 
palaces,   mosques,   baths,   and   fountains. 

Hlxem's  devout  piety,  and  the  fatherly  solici- 
tude which  he  displayed  in  the  welfare  of  his 
subjects,    are    sometimes    attributed    to    the    predic- 

294 


CORDOVA 

tlons  of  his  early  death,  which  imparted  a 
tinge  of  melancholy  to  his  character  and  ren- 
dered him  especially  thoughtful  of  the  good 
of  others.  He  discarded  rich  clothing  and 
always  appeared  in  white,  the  distinctive  colour 
of  his  house.  He  frequently  visited  the  poorest 
of  his  people,  distributing  alms  with  his  own 
hands.  Taxes  were  reduced,  the  widows  and 
children  of  soldiers  killed  in  battle  were  pensioned, 
and  Moslem  captives  held  by  Christians  were 
ransomed  out  of  the  King's  private  purse.  So 
thoroughly  was  the  latter  good  work  accomplished 
that,  at  the  close  of  Hixem's  reign,  diligent  search 
failed  to  discover  a  single  Mussulman  in  captivity. 

Authorities  vary  materially  as  to  the  size  of 
the  mosque  began  by  Abd-al-Rahman  I.  and 
finished  by  his  son  Hixem.  But  many  things  tend 
to  prove  that  the  early  foundation  was  neither 
so  large  nor  so  magnificent  as  many  Arabian 
writers  would  lead  us  to  suppose.  The  evidence 
of  the  fabric  itself  indicates  that  it  was  about 
one-fourth  or  one-fifth  the  size  of  the  present 
structure;  very  likely  its  extent  was  not  far  from 
that  of  the  church  it  replaced;  furthermore,  it  is 
most  probable  that  Hixem,  with  pious  regard  for 
his  father's  designs,  deviated  very  little  from  the 
original  plans  of  Abd-al-Rahman. 

To  the  materials  saved  from  the  earlier  church, 
Hixem,    like    Abd-al-Rahman,    added    stones    and 

295 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

carved  columns  from  Roman  ruins  elsewhere  In 
the  peninsula,  and  even  from  Africa  and  southern 
Gaul.  Thus  upon  the  return  of  his  victorious 
army  from  Narbonne,  there  might  have  been  seen 
a  long  train  of  captives,  who  entered  the  gates  of 
Cordova  carrying  upon  their  backs  or  dragging 
painfully  behind  them,  huge  stones  brought  from 
the  ruined  walls  of  their  conquered  city.  These 
stones,  cut  in  Provence  In  the  time  of  Augustus, 
were  made  to  serve  for  the  foundations  of  the 
eastern  portion  of  the  mosque.  The  royal  fifth 
of  the  spoil  of  this  campaign,  amounting  to  forty- 
five  thousand  pieces  of  gold,  was  also  set  apart 
for  the  pious  work.  It  appears,  therefore,  that 
the  eastern  part  of  the  mosque  from  the  very 
foundation,  was  the  work  of  Hixem,  and  In  all 
probability  all  the  upper  part  of  the  structure, 
arches  and  roofing,  were   also   his. 

As  planned  by  Abd-al-Rahman,  the  open  court 
was  surrounded  by  an  arcade  which  was  Increased 
on  one  side  to  a  depth  of  ten  or  twelve  columns. 
These  were  set  in  ten  rows  which,  with  the  en- 
closing walls,  produced  eleven  aisles,  the  centre 
aisle  being  somewhat  wider  than  the  others  and 
leading  to  the  kiblah,  or  mirab.  All  the  aisles 
were  open  to  the  court  and  the  broad  central  aisle 
was  opposite  its  chief  portal. 
P  Columns  gathered  from  so  many  sources  nat- 
urally  varied  materially   In   size   and   style.     Unl- 

296 


CORDOVA 

formity  of  style  received  little  consideration  from 
these  early  builders,  but  the  height  was  approxi- 
mately equalized  by  burying  the  bases  of  the 
longer  columns  beneath  the  floor;  and,  as  plinths 
or  projecting  bases  would  have  been  in  the  way 
of  pedestrians,  when  found,  they  were  either 
burled  or  removed.  But  monolithic  columns  are  "^ 
rarely  of  sufficient  length  to  serve  as  the  sole  roof  [ 
support  of  any  great  edifice.  Even  with  the  double 
rows  of  superimposed  arches,  which  piece  out 
the  height  of  those  at  Cordova,  the  roof  is  only 
about  thirty-five  feet  from  the  floor.  With  its 
present  dimensions  this  low  ceiling  is  the  chief 
defect  of  the  mosque.  But  it  should  be  remem- 
bered that,  in  the  smaller  structure  designed  by 
Abd-al-Rahman  and  completed  by  Hixem,  it  could 
not  have  been  nearly  so  obvious;  possibly  was  not 
apparent  at  all.  -^ 

V  As  for  the  superimposed  arches  themselves,  they 
form  the  sole  constructive  distinction  of  the  great 
mosque.  Possibly  the  Idea  was  derived  from  the 
double  row  of  round  arches  which  support  the 
clerestory  walls  of  the  mosque  at  Damascus,  as 
well  as  many  Romanesque  basilicas.  But  the 
form  and  arrangement  at  Cordova,  as  far  as  is 
known,  was  originated  at  Cordova  and  remains 
unique  in  that  monument.  Angular  piers  rise 
from  every  capital,  and  between  the  piers,  running 
at  right  angles   from  the  court,   spring  round,   or 

297 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

horseshoe  arches  in  two  stages,  one  above  the 
other.  The  ground  plan  of  the  structure,  rows 
of  columns  supporting  a  flat  roof,  is  of  the  most 
primitive  description,  and  If  that  were  all,  tech- 
nical critics  would  be  entirely  warranted  in  char- 
acterizing it  as  entirely  devoid  of  architectural 
design  or  constructive  merit.  But,  with  this  clever 
and  most  effective  multiplication  of  arches,  it  must 
be  granted  that  somewhere  among  its  builders 
was  a  workman  of  power  and  originality.  And, 
if  the  soaring  arches  of  the  Gothic  minsters  of 
the  north  were  inspired  in  any  degree  by  the 
lofty  aisles  of  the  great  northern  forests,  may 
not  these  have  been  suggested  by  the  low  and  al- 
most horizontal  branches  of  the  olive  and  orange 
orchards  of  the  south. 

The  enclosing  wall  Is  still  one  of  the  most  pic- 
turesque features  of  the  great  mosque.  It  Is  built 
of  tapla,  or  conglomerate;  and,  although  only 
thirty-five  feet  in  height,  except  where  the  ground 
slopes  away  rendering  a  deep  wall  of  foundation 
necessary,  It  Is  strengthened  by  massive  but- 
tresses. The  early  portions  of  the  wall  are 
crowned  with  Persian  (stepped)  battlements,  origi- 
nally painted  scarlet  and  called  flame  battlements. 
The  decoration  and  lattices  of  the  arched  open- 
ings, together  with  some  degree  of  the  surface 
ornament,  even  of  the  original  walls  of  Abd-al- 
Rahman,  arc  doubtless  the  work  of  succeeding 
years. 

298 


Mosque,  Cordova. 

Exterior  of  Enclosing   Wall. 


the  sou 

^  wail 

nf    fli 


CORDOVA 

But  not  all  the  spoil  of  Narbonne  was  lavished 
upon  the  great  mosque.  AI-Makkari  tells  of  the 
embellishment  by  Hlxem  of  the  chief  portal  of 
the  royal  palace.  This  gate  is  described  as  fur- 
nished with  folding  doors  covered  with  iron 
plates,  and  to  the  plates  was  affixed  a  brass  ring 
**in  the  form  of  a  man  with  his  mouth  open." 
This  ring  was  of  exquisite  workmanship  and  an 
extraordinary  work  of  art.  It  served  as  a  bar  to 
the  gate,  as  well  as  a  knocker,  and  had  formerly 
been  attached  to  one  of  the  gates  at  Narbonne. 
Above  this  gate  was  a  balcony,  from  which  the 
King  dispensed  justice,  whose  splendour,  we  are 
told,    "was   without   equal    In   the    whole   world." 

Already  Cordova  was  growing  in  extent  and  In 
magnificence.  Like  Palermo,  the  city  was  divided 
into  separate  quarters,  each  of  which  was  isolated 
from  the  others  when  the  gates  were  closed.  The 
discordant  racial  and  religious  elements  of  wjiich 
the  population  was  composed,  furnish  an  obvious 
reason  for  such  divisions,  but  their  wisdom  may  well 
be  doubted.  Furthermore,  the  development  of  a 
factional  spirit,  pronounced  enough  at  the  outset, 
was  soon  largely  augmented  by  the  growth  of 
numerous  sects  among  the  Moslems  themselves. 
During  the  reign  of  Hixem,  a  beautiful  suburb 
was  built  on  the  south  side  of  the  river,  which 
was  entirely  given  up  to  the  Malikltes,  or  fol- 
lowers of  Malik-al-Anas,  a  famous  doctor  of  the- 
ology  of   Medina.     Through   the   especial    favour 

299 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

of  Hixem,  the  Malikites  occupied  the  highest 
offices  In  the  state,  and  their  suburb  became  one 
of  the  most  attractive  portions  of  the  capital. 
The  level  surface  on  that  side  of  the  river  being 
favourable  to  open  spaces;  commodious  markets, 
elegant  mosques,  and  luxurious  villas  soon  lined 
broad  streets  and  spacious  squares.  A  belt  of 
beautiful  gardens  with  walks  laid  In  a  mosaic  of 
pebbles,  and  with  countless  fountains,  encircled 
the  suburb,  whose  population  soon  numbered  twenty 
thousands  souls. 

Hlxem's  excessive  piety  was  not  inherited  by 
his  son  and  successor,  Al-Hakem  I.,  who  soon 
proved  to  be,  not  only  Irreligious,  but  Irascible, 
arrogant  and  cruel;  besides  yielding  to  what  to  a 
Mussulman  Is  the  most  objectionable  of  all  vices, 
drunkenness.  The  Infamous  governor  of  Toledo, 
Amru,  of  the  "  Day  of  the  Foss  "  fame,  was  the 
worthy  servant  of  Al-Hakem,  whose  character  pre- 
sents that  compound  of  craft,  cruelty,  and  profli- 
gacy commonly  associated  with  oriental  despot- 
ism. But  Al-Hakem's  crowning  offences  were  not 
his  cruelty  nor  his  personal  outrages  against  Mos- 
lem morals,  but  his  disregard  of  the  priesthood 
which,  during  Hlxem's  reign,  had  become  all  pow- 
erful. Not  only  the  dominant  Malikites,  but  all 
the  officials  of  the  already  vast  organization  of 
the  Moslem  hierarchy,  had  enjoyed  a  considera- 
tion under  Hixem  which  was  no  longer  accorded 

300 


CORDOVA 

them  under  Al-Hakem.  Instead  of  Immediate  admis- 
sion at  all  times  to  the  royal  presence,  the  doc- 
tors of  theology,  with  their  saints  and  faquls,  were 
now  compelled  to  wait  with  other  suppliants  in 
an  ante-chamber  until  the  King  should  be  pleased 
to  receive  them;  and  the  discontinuance  of  the 
enormous  gifts  of  the  generous  Hixem,  diminished 
by  a  very  appreciable  amount  their  former  re- 
sources. 

Headed  by  the  embittered  Mallkites,  the  vari- 
ous sects  soon  united  in  a  plot  to  dethrone  Al- 
Hakem  and  replace  him  by  his  cousin,  Al-Sham- 
mas,  a  grandson  of  Abd-al-Rahman  L  But  Al- 
Shammas,  after  listening  with  apparent  favour  to 
the  proposal,  betrayed  the  plot  to  the  King,  and 
a  trap  was  laid  for  the  traitors.  Upon  a  dark 
night,  a  few  of  the  leaders  repaired  to  the  house 
of  Al-Shammas  where,  according  to  stipulation, 
they  were  to  read  a  list  of  those  who  were  pre- 
pared to  support  him.  The  secretary  of  Al- 
Hakem,  who  was  hidden  behind  a  curtain,  began 
to  write  down  the  names  as  they  fell  from  the 
lips  of  the  conspirators.  As  they  proceeded,  it 
appeared  that  all  the  leading  citizens  of  Cordova 
were  implicated.  Then  the  secretary,  fearing  to 
hear  his  own  name  given,  as  possibly  others  may 
have  been,  to  add  weight  to  the  plot,  allowed  his 
pen  to  scratch  his  tablet.  The  traitors  took  fright 
and  fled  precipitately  from  the  house.     The  alarm 

301 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

was  instantly  spread  and  a  large  number  escaped, 
but  seventy-two  were  caught  and  crucified. 

Al-Hakem  at  once  prepared  to  increase  his  de- 
fences. Already  the  royal  palace  bristled  with 
towers  and  other  fortifications,  giving  it  far  more 
the  appearance  of  a  stronghold  than  the  usual 
abode  of  a  sovereign.  Now  the  body  guard  of 
the  King  was  increased  to  the  enormous  number  of 
six  thousand;  and,  with  the  habitual  distrust  of 
his  race,  none  were  Arabs  or  even  Moslems. 
Three  thousand  were  Spanish  Christians,  and  the 
rest,  slaves  purchased  in  Africa  and  the  East.  All 
of  this  guard  were  superbly  equipped  with  the 
finest  uniforms  and  most  expensive  armour,  which, 
with  the  cost  of  their  maintenance,  imposed  a  new 
burden  upon  an  already  discontented  people. 
Especially  among  the  fanatical  population  of  the 
southern  suburb,  complaint  was  loud  and  deep. 
Indignities  were  constantly  offered  to  the  two 
thousand  of  the  royal  guard  who  were  detailed 
to  patrol  that  quarter,  and  there  were  even  those 
who  dared  to  deride  the  King  himself.  When 
from  many  minarets  came  the  call  to  public  de- 
votion, voices,  which  it  seemed  impossible  to  lo- 
cate, responded  from  hidden  gardens,  roofs,  and 
bazaars — Come,  O  Drunkard  I  Come  to  prayer! 
The  now  odious  monarch  was  even  ridiculed  and 
mocked  in  the  great  mosque  while  In  the  exercise 
of  his  duties  as  the  head  of  the  church.     Even  a 

302 


CORDOVA 

mild  sovereign  could  not  have  been  expected  to 
endure  such  reviling,  and  Al-Hakem,  after  cap- 
turing ten  of  the  leaders,  promptly  had  them 
crucified. 

An  outbreak  was  then  carefully  planned  by  one 
of  the  chief  Malikites,  but  a  trifling  altercation 
precipitated  the  uprising,  and,  in  a  moment,  the 
southern  suburb  blazed  into  insurrection.  A  mob 
surged  through  the  city  streets;  the  efforts  of  the 
royal  cavalry  to  oppose  their  progress  producing 
no  more  effect  than  a  summer  wind ;  and  the 
palace  gates  were  none  too  quickly  closed  to  pro- 
tect the  King  from  the  army  of  angry  fanatics 
which  at  once  attacked  the  walls  with  fire  and 
timbers.  Although  in  such  imminent  peril,  Al- 
Hakem  displayed  his  usual  imperturbability,  per- 
forming a  careful  toilet  even  to  the  perfuming  of 
his  hair  and  beard  before  beginning  operations 
against  his  assailants.  He  even  dared  to  further 
inflame  their  passions  by  ordering  exposed  upon 
the  battlements  the  heads  of  certain  rebel  prisoners 
which  were  struck  off  for  the  purpose. 

All  things  being  ready,  Al-Hakem  placed  him- 
self at  the  head  of  one  body  of  picked  cavalry, 
and  his  cousin  Obeydallah  as  leader  of  another. 
Then  the  latter  was  directed  to  cut  his  way 
through  the  mob  and  set  fire  to  the  southern  sub- 
urb. Obeydallah  succeeded  in  accomplishing  his 
task,    and    when    the    smoke    from    their    burning 

303 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

homes  had  thrown  the  rabble  Into  a  panic,  Al- 
Hakem  himself  Issued  from  the  palace  gates.  By 
this  time  Obeydallah  was  returning,  and  the  two 
bodies  of  cavalry  literally  mowed  down  the  now 
demoralized  Insurgents.  Within  an  hour  the  streets 
were  piled  with  corpses,  and  by  nightfall  the  beau- 
tiful southern  suburb  lay  a  heap  of  smoking 
ruins.  Those  Implicated  In  the  uprising  who  sur- 
vived this  day  of  horrors,  were  condemned  to 
banishment  within  three  days,  under  penalty  of 
crucifixion,  with  confiscation  of  their  property  and 
destruction  of  their  homes.  Twenty  thousand  are 
said  to  have  been  driven  from  Cordova  by  this 
decree,  of  whom  we  are  told  that  one  body  finally 
settled   in    Crete,   where   they   built   Candla. 

Occasional  Christian  successes  were  beginning  to 
cloud  the  prestige  of  Moslem  arms  In  Spain.  But 
in  Cordova,  a  rapid  growth  of  population,  with 
wealth  and  luxury,  marks  all  the  first  half  of  the 
ninth  century,  and  the  reputation  of  Its  already 
brilliant  civilization  was  beginning  to  make  Itself 
felt  In  the  East.  Not  only  one,  but  two  embas- 
sies from  the  Emperor  at  Constantinople  were 
received  by  Abd-al-Rahman  II.  Both  occasions 
were  surrounded  with  all  possible  pomp  and  dis- 
play. The  ambassadors  were  escorted  by  the 
King's  own  guard  through  streets  filled  with  a 
vast  multitude  of  people;  and,  in  the  palace  In 
which  they  were  lodged,  every  luxury  which   Cor- 

304 


CORDOVA 

dova  was  able  to  produce  was  placed  at  their  dls- 
posal.  Upon  their  first  visit,  the  gifts  brought  by 
the  Greeks  to  the  western  King  included  some  fine 
horses  caparisoned  with  cloth  of  gold  and  silver. 
Both  embassies  were  sent  to  Cordova  in  the  hope 
of  an  alliance  with  Moslem  Spain  against  the 
Caliphate  of  Bagdad,  whose  armies  were  a  con- 
stant menace  to  Constantinople.  As  a  bait  to  se- 
cure the  co-operation  of  the  Omeyad  King,  the 
eastern  Emperor  held  out  the  project  of  a  con- 
quest of  Syria  and  Damascus.  But  Abd-al-Rah- 
man  was  wise  enough  to  return  only  vague  and 
conditional  promises  to  these  overtures,  and  be- 
yond the  return  of  rich  gifts  by  the  hand  of  his 
favourite  poet,  and  the  Introduction  of  increasing 
numbers  of  Byzantine  workmen  Into  Spain,  the 
alliance  amounted  to  nothing. 

Through  Abd-al-Rahman's  Inordinate  love  of 
luxury,  his  court,  and  the  entire  city,  grew  rapidly 
In  splendour.  The  King  himself  assumed  a  richer 
dress  than  ever  before  adopted  by  a  Moslem  ruler 
in  Spain.  For  the  first  time  the  royal  robes  dis- 
played the  royal  cipher  Interwoven  in  their  fab- 
ric. To  enhance  his  dignity,  Abd-al-Rahman 
habitually  secluded  himself,  even  veiling  his  face 
when  in  public.  He  also  increased  the  already 
enormous  body  guard  which  had  surrounded  his 
father.  All  this  personal  magnificence  set  a  pace 
for  the  Cordovan  nobility  which,   during  the  next 

305 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

fifty  years,  was  to  produce  a  quick  decay  of  their 
power.  Its  cost,  coupled  with  that  of  the  public 
works  undertaken:  baths,  fountains,  schools,  a 
double  line  of  gardens  bordering  the  river,  and, 
of  greatest  importance,  the  introduction  of  a  more 
abundant  supply  of  water  from  the  mountains. 
Imposed  an  enormous  burden  of  taxation  upon  the 
people.  But  thrift  and  industry  produce  an  enor- 
mous revenue,  and  Abd-al-Rahman's  paternal  care 
of  his  subjects,  especially  when,  like  Joseph,  he 
was  able  to  distribute  vast  stores  of  grain  during 
years  of  drouth  and  locusts,  always  retained  for 
him  the  love  of  his  people. 

By  far  the  most  Important  member  of  Abd-al- 
Rahman's  court  was  the  famous  musiclan-poet-epi- 
cure-scientlst  and  arbiter  of  fashions,  Ziryab.  This 
universal  genius  had  first  been  Invited  from  his 
native  Bagdad  by  Al-Hakem,  but  the  lustre  of  his 
accomplishments  was  not  permitted  to  shine  upon 
Cordova  until  the  reign  of  his  son.  Ziryab  ap- 
pears to  have  possessed  all  courtly  gifts  in  a  su- 
perlative degree,  as  well  as  a  knowledge  of  science 
and  mechanics  which  alone  would  have  rendered 
him  famous.  According  to  Arab  writers,  his 
skill  In  improvisation  was  considered  marvellous 
by  a  nation  of  improvlsatores ;  and  his  epigrams 
are  still  repeated  as  proverbs.  He  composed 
music  and  Invented  savoury  dishes  with  equal 
facility.    He  added  a  fifth  string  to  the  lute;  in- 

306 


CORDOVA 

troduced  new  forms  of  social  Intercourse;  provided 
a  new  system  of  drainage  for  Cordova;  and  In- 
vented new  toilets  for  the  beauties  of  the  harem. 

With  ZIryab  for  a  leader,  life  could  never  have 
been  slow  at  the  court  of  Cordova,  and  dullness 
was  further  prevented  by  the  harem  Intrigue  In- 
stigated by  the  royal  favourite,  Tarub.  The  only 
thing  Abd-al-Rahman  was  able  to  refuse  this  Im- 
perious beauty,  was  the  promise  of  the  succession 
for  her  son;  whereupon,  although  money  and 
jewels  to  a  fabulous  amount  had  been  lavished 
upon  her,  Tarub  plotted  the  murder  of  the  King 
as  the  first  step  In  the  accomplishment  of  her  am- 
bitious designs.  But  one  of  her  confederates  be- 
trayed her,  and  Abd-al-Rahman  was  warned  to 
drink  nothing  not  already  tested  by  his  chamber- 
lain, the  eunlch  Nassir,  who  was  the  tool  of 
Tarub.  When  Nassir,  therefore,  particularly  rec- 
ommended, as  a  valuable  remedy,  a  potion  espe- 
cially prepared  for  the  King  by  an  eminent 
physician,  Abd-al-Rahman  suggested  a  preliminary 
experiment  upon  the  chamberlain  himself.  The 
latter  was  unable  to  refuse,  and  within  an  hour 
expired   In   agony. 

Although  saved  from  the  murderous  designs  of 
his  false  favourite,  Abd-al-Rahman  was  stricken  to 
the  heart  by  the  knowledge  of  her  perfidy.  He 
survived  the  scene  of  Nasslr's  death  only  a  few 
weeks;  and  only  the  unexpectedness  of  his  end  se- 

307 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

cured  the  succession  to  Mahomet,  the  one  of  his 
forty-five  sons  chosen  by  him  to  Inherit  the  throne. 
The  possession  of  the  royal  palace,  with  the  seals 
and  archives,  had  come  to  be  considered  as  prima 
facie  evidence  of  title  to  succession,  and  often 
It  was  a  race  to  sec  which  of  various  aspirants 
should  get  there  first.  In  this  case  a  loyal  eunuch 
managed  to  convey  a  secret  message  to  Mahomet, 
who,  dressed  as  a  woman,  stole  through  the 
streets,  and  gained  admission  to  the  palace  gates 
before  the  death  of  Abd-al-Rahman  had  become 
known  to  any  but  a  few  attendants.  By  morning 
Mahomet  was  master  of  the  royal  Insignia,  and 
his  prompt  enthronement  and  recognition  as  King 
of  Moslem  Spain  put  an  end  to  the  Intrigue  of 
Tarub. 

Although  the  reign  of  Abd-al-Rahman  II.  had 
been  so  prolific  of  other  public  works,  he  had 
added  little,  if  anything,  to  the  great  mosque;  and 
for  another  seventy-five  years  after  him.  It  appears 
to  have  been  left  In  all  essentials  as  completed  by 
Hlxem.  During  these  years  the  rapid  Increase  of 
personal  luxury  and  scholarship  Is  the  chief 
thing  to  be  noted,  and  with  It  the  equally 
rapid  decrease  of  the  actual  power  of  the  Mos- 
lem state.  The  apparent  neglect  of  the  further 
embellishment  of  the  great  mosque,  together  with  the 
growth  of  scholarship,  Indicates  likewise  the  lessen- 
ing of   the   earlier   purity  of  religious   enthusiasm. 

308 


CORDOVA 

Especially  was  this  true  of  the  dominating  Arabs, 
who,  with  their  learning,  were  becoming  skeptical; 
and  with  their  polish  and  refinement,  weak.     The 
Berbers,  on  the  contrary,  retaining  a  mor&  simple 
and  fervid  piety,  together  with  a  sturdy  native  in- 
dependence,   were    beginning    to    resent    the    subor- 
dinate position  in  which  they  had  long  been  held. 
When  King  Abdalla,  who  died  In  912,  dared  one 
day  to   Indulge   in   a  bit   of  mild   facetlousness   at 
the    expense    of    a    Berber    captain    of    the    guard, 
whose     services,     nevertheless,     he     prized     most 
highly,   the  latter  Immediately  left  the  royal  pres- 
ence  without   even   attempting  to   hide   his   resent- 
ment.   "  We  Berbers, "  said  he,  "  are  a  numerous 
people,  and  surely  deserve  to  be   called  fools   for 
coming  so  far  to  crawl  In  the  palaces  of  kings." 
Besides    constant    dissension    within    the    capital, 
there  were  foes  without  to  contend  with.     Chris- 
tian armies  were  steadily  advancing.     But  It  was 
the    suppression    of    revolts    In    tributary    Moslem 
cities    which    furnished    the    larger    proportion    of 
the    ghastly    skulls    which    now    looked     down    In 
countless    numbers    from    the    walls    of    Cordova. 
Eight   thousand   heads   are  said  to   have  been   the 
trophies   of   one  combat.     Thus   there  was   an   oc- 
casional  show   of  power,   but   Cordovan   authority 
grew   more    and    more    circumscribed,    and    again 
and    again    rebel    bands    ventured    to    pillage    and 
burn   her   very  '  suburbs. 

309 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 
VOL.  II 


1 


u:r<': 


Casa  de  Pilatos]  ^Seville, 

Entrance  to  Court. 
PHOTOGRAVURE. 


Chapter  XIII 
CORDOVA— Continued 

THE  accession  of  Abd-al-Rahman  III.,  as 
well  as  the  long  and  brilliant  reign  that 
followed  It,  presents  much  that  is  re- 
markable. Not  only  had  the  father  of  this  prince 
been  executed  as  a  traitor,  but  his  uncle,  then 
recognized  as  the  heir,  had  been  passed  over  In 
'Abd-al-Rahman's  favour.  What  Is  even  more  re- 
markable Is  that  the  uncle,  Al-Modhaffer,  with  all 
the  royal  family,  joined  in  an  Immediate  and  un- 
swerving loyalty  to  the  young  King.  Gifted,  like 
Abd-al-Rahman  I.,  with  striking  personal  beauty 
and  a  distinguished  presence,  Abd-al-Rahman  III. 
was  a  born  ruler  of  men.  His  reign  saw  the  full 
re-establlshment  In  the  peninsula  of  Moslem 
power,  and  In  Cordova  Itself  a  material  splendour 
and  Intellectual  brilliance  whose  descriptions,  as 
chronicled  even  by  the  sanest  authorities,  strongly 
suggest  tales  of  magic. 

The  population  of  Cordova  during  this  reign 
Is  estimated  at  from  three  hundred  thousand  to 
one  million,  and  Its  revenues  at  sixty  million  dol- 
lars.    The  narrow  streets,  paved  and  drained  ac- 

I 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

cording  to  a  most  admirable  system,  were  also 
shaded  during  the  summer  heats  by  awnings 
stretched  from  house  to  house,  and  at  night  ten 
miles  of  these  streets  were  brilliantly  illuminated. 
There  were  over  eighty  thousand  shops,  in  which 
the  most  expensive  objects  and  rarest  delicacies 
were  found  in  the  greatest  profusion.  There  were 
seven  hundred  mosques,  nine  hundred  baths,  and 
more  than  four  thousand  markets,  where  were 
daily  congregated  the  motley  throngs  of  its  own 
highly  mixed  population,  together  with  traders 
from  Africa   and  the  Orient. 

The  dwellings  which  lined  the  streets,  usually 
unpretentious  on  their  exteriors,  were  richly 
adorned  within  with  mosaics,  tapestries,  and  other 
luxuries  and  works  of  art,  while  every  house  had 
its  fountain  of  fresh  and  sparkling  water  usually 
surrounded   by   luxuriant   plants. 

There  were  likewise  fountains  everywhere  in  the 
public  squares  and  streets,  and  an  abundant  sup- 
ply of  pure  water  from  the  mountains  was  as- 
sured by  a  new  aqueduct  built  during  this  reign. 
Even  under  the  Visigoths  there  had  been  leaden 
pipes  laid  underground,  but  now  for  the  first  time 
the  broad  valley  was  crossed  by  the  long  line  of 
arches  first  employed  by  the  Romans  for  the  car- 
riage of  water.  The  water  thus  conveyed,  as  Al- 
Makkari  observes,  "  by  dint  of  extraordinary 
science,"   was   discharged   Into   a   vast  reservoir   in 

2 


CORDOVA 

the  western  part  of  the  city;  and  on  this  reser- 
voir was  a  colossal  lion  of  wonderful  workman- 
ship, so  lifelike  as  to  cast  fear  Into  the  hearts  of 
all  beholders. "  Continuing,  he  says,  "  It  was 
covered  with  pure  gold,  and  Its  two  eyes  were 
two  jewels  of  Inestimable  value,  which  sent  forth 
torrents  of  light.  The  waters  of  the  aqueduct  en- 
tered Into  the  hind  part  of  the  monster,  and  then 
poured  out  from  his  mouth  Into  a  basin,  which 
circumstances,  added  to  the  overawing  appearance 
of  the  lion,  never  failed  to  produce  an  extraor- 
dinary Impression  upon  all  who  saw  It  for  the 
first  time." 

The  city  was  still  divided  into  five  wards  or 
quarters,  each  separated  from  the  others  by  high 
walls  and  ponderous  gates;  and  from  each  of 
the  gates  in  the  wall  of  circumvallatlon,  broad 
highways  stretched  away  toward  the  chief  tribu- 
tary cities  of  the  kingdom.  The  old  Alcazar, 
built  upon  the  site  of  the  castle  of  the  VIsIgothic 
dukes  of  Cordova,  was  still  the  chief  seat  of 
royal  power,  and  the  strongest  and  most  splendid 
palace  within  the  city.  The  suburban  tower,  or 
villa,  Rusafah,  remained  a  favourite  retreat,  and 
had  also  been  turned  Into  a  sort  of  botanical  gar- 
den for  the  scientific  cultivation  of  rare  and  exotic 
plants. 

Twenty-two  suburbs  surrounded  the  city,  in 
which    luxuriant    gardens   with    countless    fountains 

3 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

embellished  the  villas  of  wealthy  citizens.  Among 
these  villas  were  ten  owned  by  the  King.  Each 
was  famous  for  some  especial  beauty — Its  foun- 
tains, its  flowers,  or  Its  ornamentation — and  all 
bore  fanciful  names,  such  as  the  Abode  of  the 
Fortunate,  or  The  Palace  of  the  Diadem.  Chief 
among  them  all  was  that  chef  d^oeuvre  of  this 
reign,  as  Indeed  of  the  entire  Moslem  period  In 
Spain,  the  villa  of  Medina  Az  Zahra,  literally  the 
City  of  Zahra;  Zahra  being  the  name  of  a  royal 
favourite,  which,  translated,  means  Blossom,  or 
Flower,  of  the  World. 

A  charmingly  Inconsequent  tale  relates,  that  the 
money  used  In  the  foundation  of  this  exquisite 
abode  was  left  to  the  King  by  a  wealthy  concu- 
bine, for  the  ransom  of  Moslem  captives.  But 
Abd-al-Rahman,  after  a  long  and  careful  search 
In  which  he  failed  to  find  a  single  Moslem  In 
bondage,  determined  with  It  to  build  a  palace 
which  should  fittingly  represent  the  glories  of  his 
reign.  As  the  last  pleasing  project  was  the  sug- 
gestion of  the  beautiful  Zahra,  In  whose  honour 
the  villa  was  to  be  named.  It  seems  likely  that 
the  search  for  the  enslaved  Moslems  may  not 
have  been  very  exhaustive.  In  all  consistency  the 
tale  should  conclude  with  the  vengeful  ghost  of 
the  departed  sultana  roaming  the  halls  built  with 
her  misappropriated  wealth,  and  disturbing  the 
peace  of  mind  of  the  beautiful  favourite  who  had 


CORDOVA 

not  only  usurped  her  place,  but  had  stolen  the 
distinction  which  belonged  to  her  predecessor.  In- 
stead of  which  we  find  that  the  Imperious  Zahra 
continued  to  flourish  yet  many  years.  When  she 
found  the  mountain  back  of  her  new  abode  dark 
and  forbidding,  the  enamoured  King  at  once  or- 
dered Its  removal,  and,  when  the  Impossibility  of 
compliance  with  his  command  was  proved  to  him, 
he  caused  its  dark  forests  to  be  cut  down  and 
replaced  by  flowering  fruit  trees. 

The  building  of  the  villa  Az  Zahra  speedily 
became  a  passion  with  Abd-al-Rahman,  and  for 
many  years  a  third  of  the  royal  revenue  was  set 
aside  for  Its  completion.  The  plans  for  what 
soon  promised  to  be  a  city,  were  early  put  Into  the 
hands  of  architects  Imported  from  Constantinople; 
and  columns  and  cut  stone  were  brought  from 
elsewhere  In  Spain,  Southern  France,  Africa,  and 
even  from  the  East.  A  number  of  the  most 
beautiful  columns  were  sent  as  a  royal  gift  by 
the  Emperor  of  Constantinople.  They  are  de- 
scribed as  of  exquisite  tints  of  green  and  rose,  and 
were  probably  of  porphyry  and  jasper.  The  en- 
tire villa,  which  was  surrounded  by  a  wall  four 
thousand  feet  one  way  by  two  thousand  two  hun- 
dred  the    other,    was    divided    Into    three    sections. 

The  Alcazar,  or  palace  proper,  occupied  the 
slope  of  the  mountain  which  rose  back  of  the 
villa;   below   It   were   the   quarters   of   the   guard; 

5 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

and  below  that  again  were  the  gardens.  The 
royal  seraglio  housed  In  the  Alcazar  is  said  to 
have  numbered  six  thousand  three  hundred 
women,  with  attendants,  counting  altogether  seven- 
teen thousand;  while  the  body  guard  amounted  to 
twelve  thousand  men.  These  figures,  with  the 
four  thousand  three  hundred  columns,  required  for 
the  support  of  Zahra's  halls  and  galleries,  are  a 
severe  test  to  one's  credulity,  but  they  are  given 
by  many  authorities,  and  convey  the  only  ade- 
quate   Impression    of   the    extent   of   the    enclosure. 

As  to  its  splendour,  even  the  most  conservative 
of  modern  authorities  describes :  "  Halls  paved  with 
marbles  In  a  thousand  varied  patterns;  walls  of 
the  most  precious  materials,  and  ornamented  with 
friezes  of  the  most  brilliant  colours;  roofs  con- 
structed of  cedar,  ornamented  with  gilding  on  an 
azure  ground,  with  damasked  work  and  Interlac- 
ings."  "And  in  truth,"  he  concludes,  "did 
this  palace  of  Az  Zahra  now  remain  to  us,  we 
could  afford  to  despise  the  Alhambra  and  all  the 
works  of   that   declining  age   of   Moorish   art." 

The  central  pavilion,  upon  which  were  lavished 
the  richest  materials  and  most  superb  and  delicate 
ornamentation  of  the  entire  villa,  was  circular  In 
form.  Its  columns  are  said  to  have  been  of  mar- 
ble and  rock  crystal  with  their  capitals  set  with 
precious  stones;  walls  and  dome  were  of  onyx, 
and  the  roof  was  of  gold  and  silver  tiles.     By- 

6 


CORDOVA 

zantine  mosaics  of  the  rarest  beauty  and  most 
delicate  finish  ornamented  the  spandrels  of  the 
arches  and  the  frieze,  and  the  doors  were  of 
odoriferous  woods  Inlaid  with  ebony  and  gold 
and  even  with  jewels. 

In  the  centre  of  this  pavilion  was  a  most  mar- 
vellous fountain  In  whose  description  historians 
wax  fairly  Incoherent.  According  to  one  account 
Its  basin  of  porphyry  was  filled  with  quicksilver. 
When  the  basin  was  made  to  rotate  by  a  hidden 
mechanism,  the  rays  of  the  sun,  reflected  by  the 
glitter  of  jewelled  walls,  probably  also  by  hidden 
mirrors,  caused  blinding  flashes  of  light  to  leap 
like  the  waters  of  a  fountain.  This  magical  toy 
appears  to  have  been  especially  designed  for  the 
edification  and  amazement  of  foreign  ambassadors, 
whom  it  was  desirable  to  impress  with  the  magi- 
cal power  of  the  Moslem  King  and  the  vast  re- 
sources of  the  Moslem  state.  When  the  quick- 
silver was  in  motion,  the  pavilion  appeared  to  be 
traversed  by  flashes  of  lightning;  to  strangers,  the 
floor  appeared  to  tremble  and  move  away,  and 
so  blinding  were  the  rays  that  many  are  said  to 
have  been  deprived  of  sight.  Above  this  foun- 
tain was  suspended  the  pearl  of  fabulous  size  and 
Inestimable  value,  sent  by  the  Emperor  as  a  gift 
to  Abd-al-Rahman. 

The  mosque  of  Az  Zahra,  while  smaller  than 
the  great  mosque  at  Cordova,  rivalled  it  in  beauty 

7 


BUILDERS  OF   SPAIN 

of  materials,  richness  of  design,  and  elegance  of 
finish.  Rising  like  a  creation  of  magic,  at  the 
imperious  behest  of  the  despotic  King,  this  ex- 
quisite mosque  was  completed  within  forty-eight 
days  of  Its  commencement;  one  thousand  workmen 
having  been  concentrated  upon  Its  construction. 
The  entire  mosque  was  paved  with  marble  whose 
colour  was  like  red  wine.  There  was  a  minaret 
measuring  ten  cubits  at  the  base,  and  rising  to  a 
height  of  forty  cubits;  and  In  the  maksurah,  It- 
self ornamented  with  costly  magnificence,  Abd-al- 
Rahman  upon  the  day  of  its  completion  placed  a 
pulpit  of  extraordinary  beauty  and  design.  On 
that  day,  which  happened  to  be  Friday,  prayers 
were  publicly  solemnized  for  the  first  time  In  this 
mosque,  and  the  King  himself  officiated  as  Iman. 
The  figure  of  the  Sultana  Zahra,  carved  in 
marble  or  alabaster  over  the  chief  entrance  to 
this  royal  city,  together  with  the  human  figures 
in  bronze  which  ornamented  one  fountain,  and 
the  grotesque  animals  In  metals  set  with  jewels, 
overlaying  the  green  marble  basin  of  another,  in- 
dicate a  growing  laxity  In  the  observance  of  the 
primitive  tenets  of  the  faith.  There  was  also  the 
golden  Hon  of  the  water  reservoir.  Probably  none 
of  these  figures,  except  possibly  that  of  the  sul- 
tana, were  executed  in  Spain.  Yet  their  very  pres- 
ence must  have  been  an  offence  to  the  priesthood, 
which  remained  sufficiently  devout,   as  well  as  suf- 

8 


CORDOVA 

ficlently  powerful,  to  administer  a  public  rebuke 
to  the  King,  when  he  became  so  absorbed  in  the 
construction  of  Medina  Az  Zahra  that,  for  three 
successive  Fridays,  he  absented  himself  from  the 
public  service  of  the  great  mosque. 

Abd-al-Rahman's  labours  upon  the  latter,  the 
chief  shrine  of  Western  Islamism,  bear  no  propor- 
tion to  his  expenditure  of  thought  and  money 
upon  the  luxurious  villa.  By  some  he  is  thought 
to  have  added  the  width  of  the  present  court  to 
the  Cordovan  mosque,  but  as  work  of  this  reign  we 
can  only  be  certain  of  the  minaret  by  which  he 
replaced  an  earlier  one.  It  is  described  as  sur- 
mounted by  a  dome;  on  the  summit  of  this  dome 
were  three  apples,  two  of  which  were  made  of 
pure  gold,  and  the  middle  one  of  silver.  Each 
one  was  three  spans  and  a  half  in  circumference, 
*'  and  they  were  encompassed  within  two  six- 
petalled  lilies  in  a  most  elegant  manner,  the  whole 
being  surmounted  by  a  small  pomegranate  made  of 
pure  gold,  rising  about  a  cubit  above  the  top  of 
the  dome."  The  dome  indicates  here,  as  at  Me- 
dina Az  Zahra,  the  employment  of  Byzantine 
workmen.  The  Arabian  writer  above  quoted 
concludes  by  saying  that  this  tower  was  un- 
equalled in  height  and  beauty  by  any  other  in  any 
country  subject  to  the  rule  of  Islam.  But  a  later 
scribe,  commenting  upon  this  excessive  praise,  ob- 
serves   that     its     author     could    not     have     been 

9 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

familiar  with  the  minarets  of  Seville  and  Morocco, 
which,  he  says,  were  far  more  lofty  as  well  as  of 
greater  beauty.  It  appears,  therefore,  that  Abd- 
al-Rahman's  minaret  could  not  have  approached 
the  splendour  of  Medina  Az  Zahra. 

As  the  power  and  wealth  of  the  Western  Mos- 
lem empire  now  far  exceeded  that  of  the  East, 
whose  rulers  had  sunk  Into  a  state  of  dependence 
upon  powerful  vassals,  Abd-al-Rahman  added  to 
his  royal  dignity  the  spiritual  title  of  Caliph,  or 
successor  of  the  Prophet;  and  for  the  next  fifty 
years  the  Western  Caliphs  were  the  most  conspicu- 
ous figures  In  the  Moslem  world. 

Of  the  numerous  embassies  which  now  followed 
closely  one  after  the  other  at  the  Illustrious  court 
at  Cordova,  none  was  received  with  more  Impos- 
ing ceremonies  and  greater  lavlshness  of  display 
than  that  of  Porphryogenitus,  the  Byzantine  Em- 
peror. A  suite  of  attendants  met  the  ambassadors 
as  far  away  as  Jaen,  and  numerous  bodies  of 
cavalry  awaited  their  approach  to  Cordova.  The 
avenues  leading  to  Medina  Az  Zahra,  where  the 
Caliph  awaited  them,  were  lined  by  the  royal 
guard,  whose  burnished  armour  and  jewel-hllted 
sclmlters  glittered  In  the  dazzling  rays  of  an 
Andaluslan  sun.  Awnings  of  silk,  with  hangings 
of  cloth  of  gold  and  silver,  marked  the  way 
through  lofty  halls  and  across  the  marble  terrace 
to  the  royal  audience  chamber.     The   Caliph  was 

lO 


CORDOVA 

found  seated  on  a  throne  blazing  with  jewels, 
surrounded  by  the  princes  of  the  royal  family  and 
the  chief  officials  of  the  realm  In  their  most  re- 
splendent robes  of  state.  These  were  flanked  by 
long  lines  of  white-robed  eunuchs,  with  striking 
groups  of  the  black-skinned  African  guard,  the 
latter  In  white  turbans,  brilliant  uniforms,  and 
shining  armour. 

After  profound  and  repeated  prostrations,  an 
address  from  the  Emperor  was  presented.  It  was 
Inscribed  on  blue  parchment  In  letters  of  gold, 
encased  In  a  wondrously  carved  golden  box  bear- 
ing on  the  lid  a  mosaic  portrait  of  the  sender, 
and  all  was  further  enveloped  In  a  tissue  of  silk 
and  gold.  A  reply,  for  the  Caliph,  was  made  by 
a  court  poet,  who  extemporized  for  the  occasion 
in  glowing  measures  and  long-sounding  strains, 
and  who  was  rewarded  for  his  effort  by  a  purse 
of  gold  and  an  appointment  to  a  high  office. 

Of  a  different  stamp  was  the  embassy  sent  by 
the  Western  Emperor,  Otho,  son  of  Henry  the 
Fowler.  Through  a  misunderstanding,  the  latter 
considered  that  he  had  been  Insulted  by  the 
Caliph,  and  prepared  a  most  scurrilous  epistle  as 
a  measure  of  retaliation.  But  It  was  found  much 
easier  to  write  the  letter  than  to  procure  a  mes- 
senger to  deliver  It;  death  at  the  hand  of  the 
Moslem  King  being  considered  the  certain  penalty 
for  Its  presentation.  Finally  John  of  Gorza,  a  fa- 
il 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

natic  monk  who  thirsted  for  martyrdom,  offered 
himself  and  was  allowed  to  set  out  for  Cordova. 
Now,  Abd-al-Rahman  was  fully  informed  of  the 
contents  of  the  letter  before  the  arrival  of  the 
rude  ambassador,  and,  wishing  to  avoid  an  un- 
necessary rupture  with  the  Emperor,  caused  the 
monk  to  be  met  by  the  shrewdest  diplomatists  of 
his  court,  who,  after  repeated  efforts,  finally  pre- 
vailed upon  him  to  send  back  a  messenger  with 
explanations,  and  defer  his  audience  with  the 
Moslem  sovereign  until  another  and  a  less  ob- 
jectionable letter  could  be  procured. 

At  the  end  of  eighteen  months  the  second  let- 
ter arrived,  but  then  there  arose  the  difficulty  of 
the  reception  by  the  Caliph  of  an  envoy  whose 
coarse  and  ragged  garments,  and  uncleanllness  of 
person,  were  considered  an  insult  to  the  elegance 
and  decorum  of  the  Moslem  court.  Supposing 
his  condition  to  be  the  result  of  poverty,  the 
Caliph  privately  sent  him  a  purse,  but  the  an- 
chorite promptly  distributed  its  contents  to  the 
poor.  Then  Abd-al-Rahman,  struck  with  admira- 
tion for  so  bold  and  uncompromising  a  character, 
declared  that  he  would  receive  him  were  he 
clothed  only  in  a  bag. 

Upon  this  occasion  no  jot  of  the  usual  splendour 
and  pompous  ceremonial  of  the  court  was  omit- 
ted, and  supercilious  courtiers  crowded  the  royal 
pavilion,   awaiting  with   hardly  suppressed   amuse- 

la 


CORDOVA 

ment  the  appearance  of  the  uncouth  monk,  who 
was  expected  to  be  struck  with  confusion  at  his 
own  sorry  figure,  and  overawed  by  the  unaccus- 
tomed magnificence  of  his  surroundings.  But  John 
of  Gorza  regarded  with  disdain  the  splendours  of 
the  luxurious  palace;  to  him  they  were  despised 
as  temptations  of  the  devil.  His  dignity  was  even 
proof  against  the  magical  lightening  of  the  mar- 
vellous fountain;  and  Abd-al-Rahman  was  so  greatly 
pleased  with  his  bearing  and  self-possession  that, 
later,  he  accorded  him  the  unusual  honour  of  a 
private  audience. 

Even  more  grotesque  than  John  of  Gorza  was 
the  corpulent  figure  of  Sancho  the  Fat,  whose  loss 
of  his  throne,  that  of  Leon,  had  actually  resulted 
from  his  physical  inability  to  bestride  a  horse. 
Although  Sancho's  grandmother,  Toto,  Queen  of 
Navarre,  had  been  a  most  Inveterate  enemy  of 
the  Moslems,  she  advised  him,  when  driven  to 
take  refuge  with  her,  to  apply  to  a  celebrated 
physician  of  Cordova  who,  it  was  thought,  could 
restore  him  to  his  former  lightness  and  agility. 
Prolonged  negotiations  with  the  Caliph,  and  the 
cession  of  a  number  of  fortresses  were  necessary 
before  safe  conduct  was  secured.  Then  an  invita- 
tion was  rceived  which  enabled  both  Toto  and 
Sancho  to  pay  a  visit  to  Cordova  for  consultatioa 
with  the  famous  physician.  Crowds  of  the  curi- 
ous   attended   the   passage   of   the   Northern   mon- 

13 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

archs  through  the  Moslem  territory,  and  a  bril- 
liant reception  awaited  them  at  Cordova,  where 
Sancho  was  soon  relieved  of  his  superfluous  flesh. 
His  visit  was  further  profitable,  in  that  he  suc- 
ceeded in  arranging  a  treaty  with  Abd-al-Rahman, 
by  which  the  latter  agreed  to  assist  him  in  the 
recovery  of  his  kingdom  from  the  usurper 
Ordofio. 

Within  a  few  months,  therefore,  a  scarcely 
recognizable  Sancho  set  out  from  Cordova  at  the 
head  of  a  Moslem  army,  to  which  were  soon 
added  those  of  his  own  followers  who  joined  him 
on  the  frontier.  These  united  forces  speedily  de- 
throned Ordofio  and  replaced  him  by  Sancho. 
But  later,  when  Sancho's  power  was  firmly  re- 
established, he  ignored  the  favours  which  had  been 
showered  upon  him,  and  refused  to  fulfill  his 
treaty  obligations  with  Abd-al-Rahman.  Then 
Ordofio  is  found  taking  refuge  at  Cordova,  where, 
although  a  royal  palace  was  assigned  him,  and 
ceremonial  courtesies  accorded,  he  was  neverthe- 
less regarded  with  secret  contempt.  But  Ordoiio 
spent  the  remainder  of  his  life  in  Cordova,  and 
died   there. 

The  reign  of  Al-Hakem  II.,  although  it  occu- 
pied only  fifteen  years,  is  crowded  with  the  splen- 
dours of  a  prolonged  and  far-reaching  prosperity, 
coupled  with  the  lustre  of  a  refined  and  scholarly 
court.     The   imposing   ceremonials   of  the   preced-. 


CORDOVA 

ing  reign  were  repeated  with  increasing  magnifi- 
cence; those  attending  the  accession  of  Al-Hakem 
fairly  exhausting  the  descriptive  powers,  even  of 
Arabian  historians.  Medina  Az  Zahra  was  en- 
larged and  further  embellished,  and  became  the 
usual   residence   of   the    Caliph. 

But  Al-Hakem's  chief  renown  lies  in  his  enlight- 
ened patronage  of  literature  and  the  fine  arts, 
and  In  his  superb  addition  to  the  great  mosque. 
Al-Hakem  was  a  born  bibliophile,  with  a  passion 
for  first  editions  and  rare  and  beautiful  bindings 
and   illuminations.^     Moreover,   his   love   of   books 

1  We  are  told  that  Al-Hakem  sent  agents  all  over  Europe  and 
the  East  to  purchase  rare  or  curious  books;  letters  in  his  own 
royal  hand  were  dispatched  to  every  author  of  reputation  asking 
for  copies  of  that  author's  works;  and,  when  purchase  was  not 
possible,  desirable  books  were  ordered  transcribed.  It  must  be  re- 
membered, of  course,  in  comparing  this  library  with  modern  ones, 
that  many  volumes  of  script  are  required  to  represent  the  same 
number  of  words  contained  in  one  volume  of  print.  In  Al-Hakem's 
library  each  book  was  necessarily  divided  into  many  volumes.  It 
should  also  be  remembered  that  the  value  per  volume,  aside  from 
the  literary  worth,  was  infinitely  greater  than  that  of  a  printed  book 
to-day. 

The  monetary  value  of  Al-Hakem's  library  brings  us  to  the 
unbounded  prosperity  of  the  Spanish  Moslems,  and  their  enormous 
wealth  at  this  period.  During  the  reigns  of  Abd-al-Rahman  III. 
and  Al-Hakera  II.  the  royal  revenues  reached  six  million  pounds 
sterling,  fifteen  fold  greater  than  that  of  William  the  Conqueror, 
who  flourished  a  century  later.  Besides  the  capitation  tax  on  Jews 
and  Christians,  the  kings  of  Cordova  received  one-tenth  of  all  prod- 

15 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

was  not  exhausted  in  their  accumulation.  He  not 
only  collected,  Illuminated,  and  bound  his  books, 
but  he  read  them.  Indeed,  he  Is  credited  with  the 
superhuman  task  of  having  read  all  his  four  hun- 
dred thousand  volumes,  each  volume  of  his  vast 
library,  according  to  Al-Akbar,  bearing  an  Inscrip- 
tion In  Al-Hakem's  own  writing,  giving  the  name 
of  the  author,  his  tribe,  the  dates  of  his  birth 
and  death,  and  anecdotes  of  his  life  and  work  de- 
rived from  the  reading  of  other  authors.  As  a  his- 
torian, Al-Hakem  achieved  an  enviable  reputation, 
for  It  Is  asserted  that  whatever  he  related  In  his 
voluminous  history  of  Andalus  (Andalusia) 
"might  be    confidently   believed   to   be   a    fact." 

One  day,  desiring  converse  with  one  of  the 
learned  faquirs  of  Cordova,  Al  Hakem  dispatched 
a  eunuch  to  summon  his  attendance  at  the  royal 
palace.  The  great  scholar  was  found  engaged  In 
expounding  certain  abstruse  points  of  science  and 
law  to  a  body  of  students  In  one  of  the  smaller 
mosques  of  Cordova.  "  O,  Faquir,"  said  the 
eunuch.  Interrupting  the  learned  discourse,  "the 
Commander   of   the   Faithful    (may   God   prolong 

uce  and  one-fifth  of  the  spoils  of  war,  but  the  most  conspicuous  por- 
tion of  their  revenues  was  drawn  from  the  mines,  whose  entire 
output  was  the  royal  prerogative.  The  mineral  wealth  of  Spain 
has  always  been  far  famed,  and  many  mines,  originally  opened 
and  worked  by  the  Phoenicians,  yielded  vast  sums  under  Moorish 
management.  Also  with  the  improved  methods  of  agriculture  in- 
troduced by  the  Arabs,  the  fruitfulness  of  the  soil  was  multiplied 
many  times  over. 

i6 


CORDOVA 

his  life!)  wishes  to  see  thee,  and  he  is  waiting  to 
see  thee;  so  make  haste,  quick,  quick/'  "  I  hear 
the  Sultan's  orders,"  said  the  Faquir,  "and  would 
willingly  obey,  were  it  not  that  I  am  prevented. 
Go  back  to  thy  master  and  mine  (may  God 
pour  his  favours  upon  him!)  and  tell  him  how  thou 
hast  found  me  in  one  of  the  houses  of  God  (may 
His  name  be  exalted!),  surrounded  by  a  number 
of  students,  to  whom  I  am  recounting  traditions 
respecting  his  uncle  (the  Prophet).  Tell  him  that 
these  students  are  attentively  listening  to  my 
words  and  profiting  by  my  lessons,  and  It  be- 
hooves me  not  to  Interrupt  the  subject  upon 
which  I  am  lecturing  to  them  until  the  sitting  be 
at  an  end,  and  the  hour  come  for  dismissing 
them/' 

Either  the  humour  of  the  situation,  or  Al- 
Hakem's  reverence  for  learning,  procured  royal 
tolerance,  even  applause,  for  the  opinionated 
stickler  for  the  dignity  of  learning.  When  the 
latter  required  the  opening  of  a  long  unused  gate 
as  more  convenient  for  his  entrance  into  the  royal 
palace,  Al-Hakem  smilingly  yielded  to  the  whims 
of  the  old  scholar,  even  going  himself  to  meet 
him  at  the  gate.  In  the  minds  of  many,  the 
honour  done  the  Faquir  increased  the  glory  of  the 
Caliph;  bat  there  were  not  wanting  those  to 
whom  it  indicated  a  lowering  of  the  royal  dig- 
nity, and  with  whom  it  sensibly  weakened  his  high 
office. 

17 


BUILDERS  OF   SPAIN 

Together  with  his  learning,  Al-Hakem  was 
deeply  religious.  He  always  read  public  prayers 
every  Friday  In  the  great  mosque;  and  he  at- 
tempted to  reform  many  abuses  which  had  long 
been  flagrant  In  the  community.  His  efforts  to 
correct  the  prevailing  vice  of  drunkenness  began 
with  the  wholesale  order  to  root  up  every  vine  in 
the  kingdom.  But  vine-growing  was  a  valuable 
Industry  and,  like  many  another  ruler,  Al-Hakem 
was  compelled  to  revoke  a  mandate  which  threat- 
ened  to   interfere   with   commercial   Interests. 

Scarcely  second  in  Importance  to  his  prodigious 
library,  was  the  work  of  Al-Hakem  upon  the 
great  mosque.  With  the  increasing  population  of 
the  capital,  the  chief  shrine  of  the  faith,  which 
every  good  Mussulman  must  visit  at  least  once  a 
week,  had  long  been  inadequate  for  the  accom- 
modation of  the  vast  throngs  which  constantly 
crowded  Its  precincts.  Its  enlargement,  determined 
upon  by  Al-Hakem  Immediately  upon  his  acces- 
sion, was  accomplished  by  an  extension  to  the 
south,  whereby  a  depth  of  about  a  dozen  columns 
was  added  to  the  sanctuary.  The  addition  con- 
tinued the  style  and  arrangement  of  the  earlier 
work,  but  it  necessitated  the  destruction  of  the  old 
MIrab,  erected  by  Hlxem  L,  and  called  for  the 
construction  of  a  new  one,  which,  like  the  first, 
It  was  proposed  to  build  at  the  extremity  of  the 
continuation  of  the  main  aisle. 

j8 


CORDOVA 

While  the  work  was  in  progress,  the  question 
arose  as  to  whether  the  position  of  the  old  MIrab 
correctly  Indicated  the  direction  of  Mecca.  It  had 
pointed  due  south,  and  now  new  lights  In  mathe- 
matics and  astronomy  declared  that  the  true  direc- 
tion of  Mecca  lay  a  little  to  the  east.  Discussion 
ran  high,  and  even  threatened  a  schism  among 
the  faithful.  Then  the  aged  Faquir,  for  whom 
the  Caliph  had  shown  so  great  a  degree  of  re- 
spect, decided  the  matter  according  to  the  same 
old  rule  of  precedent,  still  the  decisive  factor  in 
most  religious  disputations.  "Have  not  our  fath- 
ers, the  Imans  before  thee,  the  doctors  and  all 
good  Mussulmans  from  the  time  of  the  conquest 
up  to  the  present  day,  directed  their  looks  to  the 
south?  Is  it  not  preferable  to  follow  the  exam- 
ple of  others  and  be  saved,  than  to  perish  by 
separating  from  the  track?" 

"By  Allah,"  the  Caliph  replied,  "thou  sayest 
right.  I  also  am  for  following  the  example  of 
our  fathers,"  and  so  It  was  ordered,  the  new 
MIrab   continuing   In   Its   traditionary   position. 

By  this  time  the  Roman  ruins  which  had  earlier 
served  for  quarries  were  largely  exhausted,  so  the 
materials  for  Al-Hakem's  work  were  quarried  In 
Merida.  Following  the  custom  which  still  largely 
prevails,  stone  for  floors,  columns,  and  walls  was 
simply  blocked  out  before  It  was  put  in  place,  and 
the  carving  and  other  ornamentation  left  until  after 

19 


BUILDERS  OF   SPAIN 

the  building  was  erected.  As  in  earlier  efforts, 
Byzantine  workmen  were  put  in  charge  of  the 
fabric,  and,  with  practically  limitless  resources 
placed  at  their  disposal,  the  decorative  detail  was 
begun  with  an  elaboration  of  design  and  a  deli- 
cacy of  finish  which  still  render  this  the  shrine 
of  shrines  in  Spain.  The  horseshoe  arch  of  the 
new  Mirab  is  to-day  considered  the  finest  piece 
of  mosaic  in  existence.  It  is  formed  of  glass, 
flint,  and  metals,  in  dark  rich  colours,  whose  sur- 
face is  polished  until  the  work  has  the  bloom 
and  brilliance  of  a  peacock's  wing.  Below  the 
arch,  and  flanking  the  portal,  are  carved  panels 
whose  beauty  of  design  and  perfection  of  execu- 
tion have  rarely  been   excelled. 

But,  although  inexhaustible  means  were  at  hand 
for  the  completion  of  the  work  as  begun,  time 
was  found  to  be  wanting.  Al-Hakem's  reign  was 
only  fifteen  years,  and  many  of  the  arches  of  his 
addition  to  the  great  mosque  are  still  borne  by 
columns  whose  capitals  remain  as  blocked  out  in 
the  rough.  The  Mirab  was  completed,  also  the 
curious  and  elaborately  cusped  arches  which  mark 
its  approach.  But  the  remainder  of  the  work, 
with  the  exception  of  a  few  highly  ornamented 
capitals,  does  not  equal  the  earlier  portion  of  the 
mosque. 

The  Mirab  Itself,  with  its  superb  portal,  and  Its 
roof  carved  out  of  a  single  block  of  white  marble 

20 


ill     Cii 

^Li^^iMj    limltlesc? 
the  decorntive  c 


.Ink  of  Mirab,  Mosque,   Ccrdova 


<\  to  be  wanti 


he   gi 


01    a 


tfa  its  superb  p^ 
e  block 


CORDOVA 

in  the  form  of  a  shell,  is  the  supreme  effort  of 
Saracenic  art  in  the  peninsula;  but  already,  in  the 
arches  surrounding  its  portal,  a  note  of  decadence 
is  sounded.  Utterly  without  structural  significance, 
these  arches  are  curious  rather  than  beautiful; 
and  their  bizarre  forms,  coupled  with  the  elabora- 
tion of  ornamental  detail,  at  least  suggest  the 
growing  influence  of  native  workmen.  Such  fan- 
tastic lines  could  only  be  tolerated  in  a  building 
like  this,  where  structural  dignity  is  nowhere  at- 
tempted; yet  even  here  the  weak,  distorted  lines 
are  almost  an   offence. 

The  pulpit,  or  desk,  placed  by  Al-Hakem  in 
his  Mirab,  was  a  fitting  ornament  for  the  shrine 
It  occupied,  and  a  suitable  repository  for  the  Oth- 
manic  Koran.  It  was  built  on  wheels,  and  nine 
steps  ascended  to  it.  Ivory  and  the  most  precious 
woods  entered  into  its  workmanship.  One  writer 
says  there  were  in  it  thirty-six  thousand  pieces  of 
wood,  fastened  together  with  gold  and  silver  nails; 
and  it  was  further  incrusted  in  places  with  pre- 
cious stones.  The  construction  of  this  pulpit  oc- 
cupied eight  artists  seven  years.  It  was  still  in 
existence  in  the  sixteenth  century,  but  was  then 
broken  up,  and  its  materials  used  in  the  construc- 
tion of  an  altar. 

The  Othmanic  Koran,  brought  into  Spain  by 
the  Omeyad  caliphs,  is  commonly  supposed  to 
have  been  written  by  Othman,   and  was   thought 

ai 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

to  be  stained  by  his  blood.  This  Caliph,  the 
third  in  succession  from  the  Prophet,  was  assas- 
sinated while  engaged  in  public  prayers  at  Da- 
mascus, and  he  Is  said  to  have  clasped  the  book 
to  his  wounded  breast  as  he  lay  dying.  Even 
Al-Makkari  finds  little  authority  for  this  legend, 
but  the  Inestimable  value  of  the  volume  in  the 
eyes  of  all  Mussulmans  was  unquestioned,  and  the 
history  of  its  earlier  and  later  wanderings  is  a 
subject  of  careful  and  laboured  writing  by  many 
authorities.  Al-Makkari  opines  that  it  was  last 
acquired  by  the  Sultan  of  Tlemcen,  whose  suc- 
cessor possibly  preserves  It  to-day  among  his 
treasures. 

In  the  court  of  the  enlarged  mosque,  four  reser- 
voirs for  water  were  erected  by  Al-Hakem. 
These  were  for  purification,  and  replaced  the  single 
earlier  one.  That  had  been  supplied  by  water 
drawn  by  beasts  from  a  neighbouring  well,  whereas 
the  new  ones  were  fed  by  a  canal  which  brought  fresh 
water  from  the  mountains.  Of  these  new  reser- 
voirs, the  two  large  ones  were  for  men,  and  the 
two  small  ones  for  women.  Were  there  more 
devout  men  than  women  In  Moslem  Cordova? 
or  did  they  stand  In  greater  need  of  ablutions? 
Several  almshouses  were  also  built  by  Al-Hakem 
against  the  walls  of  the  great  mosque,  and  alto- 
gether he  Is  said  to  have  expended  one  hundred 
and  sixty  thousand  gold  dinars  upon  the  work  of 

22 


CORDOVA 

Its  extension,  elaboration,  and  improvement;  and 
all  within  the  short  space  of  fifteen  years. 

During  the  latter  days  of  Al-Hakem,  a  young 
student  of  law  In  the  University  of  Cordova, 
Mahomet-al-Amlr,  began  to  attract  notice,  not 
only  among  his  associates,  but  In  the  palace  Itself. 
There  he  made  himself  especially  pleasing  to  the 
Sultana,  the  mother  of  the  young  Prince  Hlxem. 
And  within  a  few  days  of  the  accession  of  the 
chlld-callph  (Hlxem  was  only  nine  at  his  father's 
death),  Al-Amir  was  bold  enough  to  express  a 
presentiment  that  one  day  he  should  rule  the 
Moslem  kingdom  of  Spain. 

Mahomet-al-AmIr  gave  voice  to  his  boastful 
prediction  In  a  wine  shop  where  a  group  of  fel- 
low-students were  chatting  over  their  cups,  and  he 
concluded  his  pre-vlslon  of  Impending  greatness  by 
promising  to  grant,  when  he  should  come  into 
power,  what  was  most  eagerly  desired  by  each  of 
his  companion^.  After  a  burst  of  derisive  laugh- 
ter, one  scoffingly  chose  to  be  Governor  of  Mal- 
aga, another,  Inspector  of  Markets,  and  a  third, 
Prefect  of  Cordova.  But  the  fourth,  choking  with 
Indignation,  burst  forth:  "Wretched  boaster! 
Thou  the  ruler  of  Andaluz  I  Thy  insufferable  ar- 
rogance Is  an  insult  to  the  majesty  of  the  Cali- 
phate! The  favour  that  I  would  demand  of  thee 
would  be  that  the  first  act  of  thy  vaunted  author- 
ity should  have  me  stripped  naked,   smeared  with 

23 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

honey  that  the  flies  and  bees  should  sting  me, 
placed  upon  a  donkey  with  my  face  to  the  tall, 
and  so  paraded  through  the  streets  of  Cordova." 

It  was  not  many  years  before  the  young  Ma- 
homet, soon  known  from  his  military  ability  by  his 
popular  title,  Al-Mansur  (meaning  Victor  of  God), 
was  in  a  position  to  grant  the  wishes  of  his 
friends  expressed  In  this  Idle  hour,  and  each  one 
down  to  the  smallest  detail  was  carried  out.  A 
very  Richelieu,  Al-Mansur  employed  every  per- 
sonage at  the  court  as  a  stepping-stone  to  his 
advancement,  flinging  each  aside,  even  the  Sul- 
tana-mother, when  they  could  no  longer  serve  his 
purpose.  One  by  one  those  who  stood  in  his 
path  were  removed,  either  by  Intrigue  or  assas- 
sination, and  the  young  Caliph  never  even  emerged 
from  the  nursery-like  seclusion  of  his  childhood. 
It  Is  possible  that  Hlxem  may  have  been  lacking 
in  natural  powers  from  infancy,  but  whatever  his 
gifts  or  want  of  them,  he  was  never  permitted  a 
normal  development,  and  after  a  few  years  he 
was  almost  forgotten. 

Al-Mansur  constantly  used  the  young  Caliph's 
signature,  which  was  easily  procurable,  and  once 
it  seemed  necessary  to  parade  Hixem's  shrunken 
figure  and  wizened  face,  prematurely  aged  by  a 
life  of  dissipation,  through  the  streets  of  Cordova. 
The  people  had  believed  him  dead,  and  Al-Man- 
sur, to  retain  his  power,  must  expose  this  pitiable 

24 


i 


■ 


Arabesque  from   Mirah. 

Panel  of  Portal,  Mosque.  Cordova. 


CORDOVA 

shadow  of  royalty.  Was  it  really  Hixem?  We 
may  never  know,  and  after  this  exhibition  he 
made  no  further  appearance  In  Cordovan  history, 
except  as  a  name  to  quarrel  over  or  to  conjure  with. 

For  twenty-five  years  Al-Mansur  upheld  the  al- 
ready falling  fortunes  of  the  Moslem  kingdom  of 
Cordova.  His  title,  Victor  of  God,  was  earned 
by  many  brilliant  victories  In  the  field,  some  in 
Africa,  but  more  often  against  the  Christians  In 
the  North.  Once  his  victorious  army  returned  to 
Cordova  followed  by  a  train  of  Christian  captives 
from  far-off  Santiago.  Upon  their  backs  was  the 
burden  of  the  rich  booty  of  that  desecrated  shrine; 
and  later  the  bells  which  had  led  the  service  of 
the  Christian  altar  were  Inverted  and  used  as 
lamps  In  the  great  mosque.  But  Al-Mansur's 
armies  were  largely,  if  not  entirely,  composed  of 
Christian  captives,  with  Christian  and  Berber  mer- 
cenaries. As  the  pay  was  double  that  from  other 
rulers,  such  large  numbers  flocked  to  his  standard 
that  only  picked  men  were  accepted.  But  al- 
though the  result  was  the  finest  body  of  troops  In 
Europe,  It  was  also  one  whose  bigotry  and  rapac- 
ity were  to  prove  the  chief  menace  to  the  perma- 
nence of  the  Western   Caliphate. 

But  Cordova  still  kept  on  her  luxurious  way. 
There  are  historians  who  tell  of  another  suburban 
villa,  called  Az-Zahira,  erected  and  lived  in  by 
Al-Mansur,    which   even   surpassed   the   extent   and 

25 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

splendour  of  Medina  Az  Zahra.  Although  twelve 
miles  from  Cordova,  its  gardens  extended  to  the 
very  walls  of  the  city.  Here  the  dictator,  who 
placed  his  effigy  by  the  side  of  that  of  the  Caliph 
upon  the  coins  of  the  realm,  conducted  Its  admin- 
istration, and  received  embassies  with  all  the  pomp 
and  ceremonial  of  a  real  Caliph.  Twice  the  Af- 
rican King,  ZeyrI,  visited  the  court  of  Medina  Az 
Zahira,  each  time  bringing  curious  gifts.  Among 
them  were  a  number  of  extraordinary  animals,  a 
musk  bull,  a  gnu,  and  a  bird  that  could  speak 
both  Arabic  and  Berber,  the  latter  doubtless  a 
parrot. 

Hearing  of  the  magnificence  of  the  Moslem 
dictator,  the  King  of  Navarre  sent  a  friendly  em- 
bassy, whose  especial  mission  was  to  report  upon 
the  actual  resources  of  the  Caliphate.  Al-Mansur 
was  Informed  as  to  the  purpose  of  the  visit,  and 
laid  his  plans  accordingly.  He  caused  a  large 
lake  within  his  gardens  to  be  planted  with  water 
lilies.  Then  two  hundred  pounds  of  gold  and 
silver  were  cast  Into  small  pieces  of  money. 
These  were  secreted  In  the  lilies  the  night  before 
the  reception  of  the  embassy,  which  had  been  ap- 
pointed at   dawn. 

The  ambassadors  iipon  their  arrival  found  Al- 
Mansur  In  a  great  hall  of  his  palace,  seated  In  a 
balcony  overlooking  the  lake.  Exactly  at  sunrise, 
one  thousand  of  the  Slavonian  guard  marched  In 

26 


CORDOVA 

and  took  up  their  positions  on  each  side  of  Al- 
Mansur's  throne.  Five  hundred  were  dressed  in 
robes  of  gold  tissue  and  carried  golden  trays, 
and  five  hundred,  in  silver  tissue,  carried 
silver  trays.  The  strangers  were  much  Im- 
pressed by  their  rich  apparel  and  admirable 
training.  But  their  amazement  became  boundless 
when,  as  the  first  sunbeams  struck  the  lake,  the 
guard  marched  to  Its  borders  and  began  to  gather 
the  fruitage  of  the  opening  lilies.  Those  with 
golden  trays  plucked  the  silver  pieces,  and  those 
with  silver  trays,  the  golden;  and  when  all  the 
lilies  had  been  despoiled  they  returned  and  poured 
the  coins  In  a  shining  heap  at  the  feet  of  Al- 
Mansur.  It  was  easy  then  to  arrange  a  most 
advantageous  truce  with  the  well-nigh  speechless 
embassy,  who,  upon  their  return,  advised  the 
King  of  Navarre :  "  Do  not  make  war  upon 
these  people,  for,  by  the  Lord!  we  have  seen  the 
earth  yielding  them  Its  hidden  treasures." 

Of  the  many  measures  resorted  to  by  Al-Man- 
sur  to  bolster  up  his  perilous  position,  the  burn- 
ing of  the  scientific  works  In  Al-Hakem*s  library, 
a  sop  thrown  to  the  growing  Importunity  of  Berber 
bigotry,  was  the  most  costly  act  of  his  reign,  and  the 
further  enlargement  of  the  great  mosque,  under- 
taken to  restore  his  falling  credit  with  the  power- 
ful priesthood,  the  only  effort  of  permanent  Im- 
portance.    But,    although   eight   aisles   were   added 

27 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

1 

to  the  entire  length  of  the  mosque  on  the  east, 
Al-Mansur's  addition  contributed  nothing  whatever 
to   Its   consequence   beyond   Increase   of  size. 

The  extension  Is  irregularly  set  out,  capitals  are 
commonplace,  a  few  of  the  arches  are  pointed,  and 
all  the  materials  are  Inferior.  Altogether,  In  com- 
parison with  the  earlier  work,  it  Is  slipshod.  The 
bare  prolongation  of  the  aisles,  however,  must  be 
recognized  as  a  factor  of  significance  in  the  Im- 
presslveness  of  the  entire  structure.  Indeed  as 
seen  to-day,  despoiled  of  so  much  of  Its  beauty  of 
finish,  its  chief  fascination  lies  In  the  endless  and 
constantly  changing  vistas  produced  by  twenty- 
nine  aisles  running  one  way  and  nineteen  the  other. 
What  It  was  when  its  twelve  hundred  polished 
columns  supported  a  roof  whose  beams  were  richly 
coloured  and  picked  out  with  gold,  when  its  illumi- 
nation was  effected  by  over  twelve  thousand  lights, 
must,  alas  I  be  left  to  the  imagination.  These  lights 
were  tiny  flames  from  bronze  and  silver  lamps  and 
candelabra;  but  their  endless  profusion,  multi- 
plied by  reflection  in  long  rows  of  gleaming 
columns,  with  the  bewildering  perspectives  of 
springing  arches,  must  have  produced  an  effect  of 
almost    inconceivable    beauty. 

The  new  Maksurah  added  to  the  mosque  by 
Al-Mansur  may  be  regarded  as  the  final  archi- 
tectural effort  of  the  Caliphate  of  Cordova.  It 
is  described  as  one  of  the  most  magnificent  struc- 

28 


CORDOVA 

tures  ever  built  by  man.  With  doors  of  pure 
gold,  a  floor  of  silver,  lapis  lazuli  columns,  and 
the  richest  of  mosaic  and  carving,  It  appears  to 
have  been  a  marvel,  and  Its  destruction  a  supreme 
loss;  but  the  character  of  the  work  of  this  period, 
which  has  been  preserved,  creates  grave  doubts  of 
Its  artistic  value.  The  enclosure  of  this  Maksurah 
IS  now  covered  with  stucco  arabesques  in  Alham- 
bralc  designs,  a  work  of  the  fourteenth  century. 

With  the  death  of  Al-Mansur,  Is  closed  the 
last  bright  period  of  Cordovan  history.  In- 
trigues, murders.  Insurrections,  and  revolutions  fill 
the  few  years  Immediately  following  with  the  dis- 
order of  quickly  succeeding  horrors  of  bloodshed  and 
desolation.  Within  a  dozen  years  as  many  as 
six  kings  attempted  to  usurp  the  tottering  throne: 
and  before  half  that  period  had  elapsed,  Cordova 
had  been  despoiled  of  half  her  beauty,  and  her 
prosperity  had  been  ruined.  The  devastation  of 
the  rich  suburbs,  with  the  destruction  of  the  fa- 
mous villas  of  Medina  Az  Zahira,  and  Medina 
Az  Zahra,  was  the  result  of  fratricidal  strife. 
Only  seven  years  after  the  death  of  Its  builder, 
the  palace  of  Al-Mansur  was  razed  to  the  ground, 
and  Its  treasures  destroyed,  by  an  Omeyad  prince 
who  overthrew  and  crucified,  one  after  the  other, 
two  of  the  brothers  of  Al-Mansur,  who  attempted  to 
succeed  him.  Not  many  years  later,  Medina  Az 
Zahra  was  sacked,  every  living  person  In  It  being 

29 


BUILDERS  OF   SPAIN 

first  put  to  the  sword,  and  Its  walls  levelled  to  the 
ground,  by  an  army  of  savage  Berbers,  in  the  pay 
of   another  aspirant  to  the  throne. 

During  the  domination  of  the  African  kings, 
only  a  quasl-importance  remained  to  Cordova, 
and  no  shadow  of  the  prosperity,  so  quickly  de- 
stroyed, ever  returned.  With  its  conquest  by  St. 
Ferdinand  (1235),  the  fate  of  the  already 
broken-down  city  was  sealed.  After  a  stubborn 
and  protracted  resistance,  the  terms  of  capitula- 
tion granted  only  life,  and  liberty  of  departure, 
to  the  Moslem  Inhabitants.  So  large  a  number 
abandoned  their  homes  that  the  city  was  prac- 
tically depopulated  before  Ferdinand's  entry. 
Only  here  and  there  curious  eyes  from  behind 
lattices  watched  the  march  of  the  victorious  army, 
which,  after  unfurling  the  standard  of  Leon  and 
Castile  from  the  highest  tower  of  the  fortifica- 
tions, took  Its  way  to  the  great  mosque,  where  the 
cross  at  once  replaced  the  crescent  above  the 
chief  shrine. 

i~  The  most  precious  treasure  of  the  great  mosque, 
the  Othmanic  Koran,  had  been  carried  away  to 
Africa  by  the  Almohade  kings,  a  loss  regarded  by 
the  superstitious  as  removing  the  last  warrant  of  the 
security  of  Moslem  power  in  Spain.  The  pattern  of 
the  splendid  pavement  was  already  worn,  and 
marbles  and  mosaics  were  dulled,  yet  the  vast  In* 
terlor,    whose    precincts,    after    two    hundred    and 

30 


CORDOVA 

fifty  years  of  exclusion,  were  now,  for  the  first 
time,  desecrated  by  Christian  feet,  still  presented 
a  strange  beauty  to  unaccustomed  eyes.  To  the 
rough  soldiery  fresh  from  the  sombre  North, 
mosaics,  tapestries,  and  hangings  of  golden  Cor- 
dovan leather  still  glowed  with  a  riot  of  oriental 
colour,  while  the  bewildering  and  unexpected  vistas 
of  labyrinthine  aisles  surprised  and  startled  at 
every  turn.  But  wonder  and  superstitious  awe 
soon  gave  way  to  profane  jests,  followed  by  the 
desecration  and  abuse  of  a  splendour  the  rude  bar- 
barians  were   totally   unable   to    enjoy. 

St.  Ferdinand  at  once  ordered  the  purification 
and  consecration  to  Christian  uses  of  this  chief 
shrine  of  Western  Islamism,  and  the  site  conse- 
crated for  two  thousand  years  to  religious  use, 
reverted  once  more  to  the  service  of  the  Christian 
faith.  A  few  years  later,  an  Arabian  poet  se- 
cretly entered  the  re-consecrated  mosque-church  at 
night.  He  found  it  strewn  with  green  branches 
of  myrtle;  the  noise  of  thundering  bells  resounded 
in  his  ears;  the  glare  of  innumerable  lamps  daz- 
zled his  eyes.  Every  one  of  those  present,  he 
wrote,  "  had  banished  mirth  from  their  counte- 
nances, and  expelled  from  their  minds  all  agree- 
able ideas;  and,  when  they  directed  their  steps 
toward  the  marble  font,  it  was  merely  to  take  a 
few  sips  of  water  from  the  hollow  of  their  hands. 
When    the   priest   rose   with   the   wine   cup    in    his 

31 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

hand,  the  fragrance  of  its  contents  captivated  his 
senses,  and  when  he  (the  priest  )  tasted  the  liquor, 
Its  sweetness  and  flavour  seemed  to  overpower 
him." 

"  By  the  Lord  of  mercy,"  wrote  the  poet, 
"this  mansion  of  God  is  pervaded  with  the  smell 
of  fermented  red  wine,  so  pleasant  to  the  youth. 
It  was  to  a  girl  (the  Virgin)  that  their  prayers 
were  addressed;  it  was  to  her  that  they  put  on 
their  gay  tunics,  Instead  of  humiliating  themselves 
before  the  Almighty." 

Even  before  the  entry  of  Ferdinand,  the  royal 
Alcazar  adjoining  the  great  mosque  had  become  a 
dismantled  ruin.  At  the  beginning  of  the  four- 
teenth century,  some  effort  was  made  by  Alfonso 
XI.  to  rebuild  it,  and  this  fourteenth-century 
Alcazar  Nuevo  now  serves  as  a  prison.  In  Its 
gardens  the  curious  will  find  a  few  broken  walls, 
and  the  location  of  once  luxurious  baths.  Else- 
where In  Cordova  occasional  fragments  of  Sara- 
cenic decoration  are  seen  incorporated  in  newer 
walls.  But  to-day,  in  the  once  magnificent  city, 
the  sole  relic  of  importance  of  the  labours  of  the 
Byzantine  workmen  who  contributed  the  larger 
proportion  of  its .  material  splendour,  is  the  now 
defaced   and  desecrated   mosque. 

To-day  the  richly  ornamented  ceiling  of  the 
once  splendid  fabric  is  hidden  by  plaster  domes; 
Its  arches  are  daubed  with  a  wash  or  paint  in  dls- 

32 


CORDOVA 

tressing  stripes  of  red  and  white;  its  columns  are 
dull  and  defaced;  and,  crowning  misfortune  of  all, 
Its  long  vistas  are  blocked  by  a  huge  Coro,  to 
make  way  for  which  some  misguided  Christian 
architects  removed  several  hundred  precious 
columns.  But,  even  defaced  as  It  is,  there  re- 
mains a  strange  and  fantastic  charm  In  the  old 
mosque.  The  long  vistas  of  its  still  countless 
columns  and  doubled  arches  still  suggest  and  re- 
create In  the  imagination  a  vision  of  its  early 
beauty.  Everywhere  was  the  splendour  of  oriental 
colour;  In  the  bronze  of  Its  furnishings  and  the 
gold  of  Its  roof,  In  the  soft  fabrics  whose  richly 
blended  tones  clothed  long  stretches  of  walls,  and 
were  caught  and  continued  in  the  flowing  robes 
of  an  endless  procession  of  worshippers:  but, 
most  of  all  In  the  glorious  shrine  toward  which 
all  faces  were  turned,  now  as  then  the  most  pre- 
cious work  ever  produced  by  Saracenic  art;  a 
memorial  to  the  Inspiration  of  Arabian  genius,  and 
a  monument  to  the  splendour  of  Arabian  power  in 
Spain. 


33 


Chapter  XIV. 
SEVILLE 

**  ^  "X"  THEN  a  learned  man  dies  In  Seville, 
^y%/  and  his  heirs  desire  to  sell  his  library, 
they  generally  send  It  to  Cordova. 
When  a  musician  dies  in  Cordova,  and  his  In- 
struments are  to  be  sold,  It  Is  the  custom  to  send 
them  to  Seville.'*  So  wrote  a  wise  faquir  of  the 
Arabs;  and  so  Seville  has  remained  all  through 
her  history,  a  city  given  up  to  the  playing  of 
musical  instruments,  to  dancing,  and  to  song. 

The  statellness  of  Spanish  dignity  may  be  found 
in  Andalusia,  as  In  Castile;  yet  in  Seville  it  is 
carried  with  a  lightness  which  half  conceals  its 
lofty  decorum.  Seville,  as  well  as  Toledo,  is  dis- 
tinctively Spanish,  and  it  also  bears  to  a  striking 
degree  the  Impress  of  Saracenic  civilization;  but 
no  stronger  contrast  may  be  Imagined  than  that 
lying  between  the  battered  fortifications  of  the 
Northern  city,  and  the  light  sunny  squares  of  the 
Southern  one.  In  Seville,  stucco  walls  are  washed 
with  clouded  tones  of  white  and  blue  and  pink, 
and  terra-cotta  roofs  of  ruddy  corrugated  tiles 
are  crowded  into  a  perfect  jumble  of  angles,  from 
whose  crevices  spring  golden  bunches  of  feathery 
wild    mustard.      A    few    strenuous    or    disastrous 

34 


SEVILLE 

pages  mark  the  history  of  Seville,  but  they  have 
left  little  impression,  or  rather  their  wounds  have 
been  healed  by  the  softness  of  the  Sevllllan  cli- 
mate, the  fertility  of  the  Sevllllan  soil,  and  the 
brightness  of  the  Sevllllan  spirit;  and  to-day,  as 
always,  Seville  is  the  gayest  city  in  Spain. 

Following  the  usual  Spanish  custom,  the  legen- 
dary history  of  Seville  begins  with  the  coming  of 
Hercules.  Upon  that  memorable  voyage  when  the 
Greek  hero  reached  the  end  of  the  world  (the 
straits  of  Gibraltar),  he  first  built  Gades  (Cadiz), 
and  there,  while  pasturing  the  flocks  of  Gades 
upon  the  broad  plain  of  the  Guadalquivir,  he 
founded  the  city  of  Seville,  and  built  there  a 
temple.  It  is  said  that  this  fable  of  Hercules,  and 
others  of  Bacchus,  refer  to  early  settlements  of 
Chaldeans  and  Phoenicians,  and  that  the  name 
Seville  was  originally  the  Phoenician  Sephela, 
meaning  plain.  The  Greeks  made  it  Ispola;  the 
Romans  Hispalls;  and  the  Arabs  Ishblllah;  from 
which  the  transition  is  easily  accomplished  to  Se- 
ville   (Sa   veel  ya). 

But  all  is  pure  tradition  until  the  entry  into 
Seville,  45  B.  C,  of  Julius  Caesar.  That  the  town 
was  already  a  flourishing  one,  is  proved  by  the 
fact  that  its  subjugation  was  considered  of  suffi- 
cient Importance  to  be  Inscribed  In  the  Roman 
calendar;  and  the  immediate  and  marked  favour 
shown  to  Seville  by  the  conqueror,  so  rapidly  ad- 

35 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

vanced  Its  prosperity  that  It  quickly  became  the 
chief  city  of  southern  Spain.  Caesar  gave  the 
town  his  own  name,  together  with  that  of  the 
empire,  Julia  Romulea,  and  declared  It  the  capital 
of  a  province,  Baetlca.  Under  the  emperors,  Se- 
ville became  so  opulent  that  a  license  was  granted 
It  to  coin  money  In  the  town,  a  most  marked  and 
special  privilege;  and  the  Roman  ruins,  still  pre- 
served In  and  about  Seville,  Indicate  the  high  de- 
gree of  prosperity  attained,  as  well  as  the  Imperial 
favour  with  which  the  city  was  regarded. 

Already  as  early  as  200  B.  C.  the  Roman  town 
of  Italica,  a  few  miles  from  Seville,  on  the  site 
of  an  early  Iberic  settlement,  had  been  founded 
by  Sclpio  Afrlcanus.  At  first  Intended  as  a  refuge 
or  asylum  for  soldiers  wounded  In  the  campaigns 
against  the  Carthaginians,  Italica  finally  attained 
considerable  Importance,  doubtless  rivalling  Julia 
Romulea  In  the  number  and  beauty  of  Its  monu- 
ments. This  consequence  was  largely  augmented 
by  the  birth  In  Italica,  of  both  Trajan  and  Ha- 
drian; but  with  Its  gradual  decay,  said  to  have  been 
caused  largely  by  a  change  In  the  bed  of  the 
Guadalquivir,  Italica,  sometimes  called  Old  Se- 
ville, became  little  more  than  a  quarry,  from 
whence  were  dragged  materials  for  the  building 
of  the  newer  city. 

Until  the  end  of  the  third  century,  Seville  was 
pagan,    and    perhaps    the    best    proof    of    its  early 

36 


SEVILLE 

Phoenician  colonization  is  the  interminglement  of 
Phoenician  paganism  with  that  of  Rome.  The 
chief  goddess  worshipped,  Salambo,  was  a  sort  of 
Phoenician  Venus,  whose  cult  originated  in  Baby- 
lonia and  spread  thence  to  Egypt,  but  which  never 
reached  farther  west  than  Seville.  The  festival 
of  this  deity  was  celebrated  each  year  in  July, 
when  her  loss  of  Adonis  was  commemorated  by  a 
great  procession;  the  people  following  her  image 
borne  upon  the  shoulders  of  noble  women  clad 
in  mourning,  and  weeping.  In  the  year  287,  as 
the  procession  wound  through  the  narrow  Sevillian 
streets,  two  young  girls,  Justa  and  Rufina,  en- 
gaged in  selling  earthenware  vases,  refused  to  do 
reverence  to  the  goddess.  They  were  newly  con- 
verted to  Christianity,  and  this,  their  first  public 
avowal  of  their  faith,  so  incensed  the  crowd  of 
devotees  that  they  were  put  to  death.  The  first 
Christian  martyrs  of  Seville,  Justa  and  Rufina 
early  became  its  patron  saints,  an  honour  they  still 
retain. 

Although  Seville  enjoyed  for  only  a  brief  period 
the  distinction  of  being  the  Visigothic  capital  of 
Spain,  it  always  remained  the  chief  southern  city 
in  their  peninsular  empire,  and  its  great  metropol- 
itans frequently  lifted  Seville  to  a  leading  part  in 
the  affairs  of  the  kingdom.  No  one  of  the  Visi- 
gothic kings  left  so  profound  and  lasting  an  im- 
pression upon  the  history  of  Spain  as  the  power- 

37 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

ful  Archbishop,  Leandro,  who  established  its  Cathol- 
icism; and  without  his  gentler  brother,  Isidro,  a 
wide  and  Irreparable  gap  would  be  left  In  the  lit- 
erature of  the  peninsula.  Once,  when  a  court  was 
set  up  In  Seville  for  the  unstable  Ermlnlglld  and 
his  intractable  wife  Ingunda,  Leandro  almost  re- 
covered for  the  city  its  earlier  pre-eminence.  But 
for  the  superior  military  ability  of  the  sturdy  old 
King,  Leovlglld,  it  might  again  have  become  the 
VIsigothic  capital  of  Spain.  But  Leandro's  great 
triumph  came  with  the  conversion  of  Recared, 
and  until  the  death  of  Isidro,  who,  in  600,  suc- 
ceeded Leandro  as  Archbishop  of  Seville,  the  see 
occupied  a  position  fully  equal  to  that  of  Toledo. 
Like  Toledo,  Seville  remained  a  Roman  or 
semi-Roman  city  during  all  the  VIsigothic  period. 
The  old  pagan  temple  of  Venus  Salambo,  con- 
verted Into,  or  replaced  during  the  Roman  period, 
by  the  Christian  church  of  St.  Vincent,  Is  believed 
to  have  served  as  the  cathedral  church  of  Seville 
until  the  Moslem  conquest;  and  the  Roman  Prae- 
torium,  some  of  whose  walls  are  thought  to  be 
incorporated  In  those  of  the  present  Alcazar,  was 
doubtless  the  royal  residence  of  the  earlier  VIsi- 
gothic kings.  For  the  rest,  there  are  accounts  of 
temples,  aqueducts,  walls,  and  towers;  and  Se- 
ville still  preserves  the  portico  of  one  Roman 
temple,  some  portions  of  Roman  aqueducts,  and 
a   few   columns,   broken   statues,   and  tombs.     But, 

38 


SEVILLE 

as  in  Toledo,  decay  had  doubtless  set  in  before 
the  Moslem  invasion,  and  much  of  the  beauty  de- 
scribed as  found  there  by  Arab  writers  may  be 
attributed  to  a  natural  luxuriance  of  vegetation, 
or  to  the  desire  to  boast  of  the  riches  of  con- 
quest. 

Why  Tarik  passed  Seville  by  on  his  victorious 
march  into  the  north,  we  are  nowhere  informed, 
but  its  conquest  was  left  to  the  Arab  general, 
Musa.  Possibly  the  Berber  leader  had  been  in- 
formed of  internal  dissensions  which  are  said  to 
have  led  to  its  surrender  without  resistance.  At 
any  rate  the  task  of  its  reduction  was  an  easy 
one,  and  the  Moslem  conqueror,  enamoured  of  the 
beauty  of  its  situation  and  the  fertility  of  its  soil, 
immediately  designated  Seville  as  the  capital  of 
Moslem  Spain.  It  was  in  Seville,  therefore,  that 
Musa  assembled  the  captives  and  the  booty,  taken 
in  the  conquest  of  the  peninsula  by  both  himself 
and  Tarik,  preparatory  to  their  transport  to 
Damascus.  The  spoil  of  palaces  and  the  plunder 
of  churches  was  loaded  Into  ponderous  vehicles, 
which  were  doubtless  drawn  by  the  hundreds  of 
Visigothic  captives,  who,  with  the  treasure,  were 
later  to  be  presented  to  the  Caliph.  One  Is  left 
to  wonder  how  the  clumsy  vehicles  were  trans- 
ported across  the  straits;  also  why  the  plunder  was 
not  loaded  Into  boats  at  Seville,  which  was  a  port 
for    sea-going   vessels    of   moderate    draught.     But 

39 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

the  Moslems  never  took  kindly  to  the  sea  and, 
like  many  moderns,  possibly  desired  to  make  their 
crossing  as  short  as  possible. 

According  to  a  long-accepted  tradition,  the  wid- 
owed queen  of  King  Roderick,  the  African  princess 
Egllona,  was  found  by  Musa  In  Seville.  This 
famous  beauty  preserved  her  freedom  and  her 
vast  wealth  by  a  timely  submission  to  Moslem 
authority.  And  a  little  later,  as  the  wife  of  that 
most  engaging  young  prince,  Abd-al-AssIz  (whom  his 
father,  Musa,  left  as  emir  of  the  new  province), 
Egllona  once  more  became  Queen  of  Spain. 
Many  are  the  tales  told  of  the  growing  ascend- 
ency of  Egllona  over  Abd-al-AssIz,  and  of  her 
ambition  which  finally  wrought  his  ruin.  Her 
stronger  personality  made  Itself  felt  even  In  the 
councils  of  the  Divan,  which  soon  began  to  show 
marked  favour  to  the  Christian  Spaniards.  Early 
regarded  with  jealous  suspicion  by  the  Arab  fol- 
lowers of  Abd-al-AssIz,  Egllona  finally  got  herself 
detested  by  an  attempt  to  introduce  the  cere- 
monials of  the  Gothic  court  Into  the  more  demo- 
cratic household  of  the  Moslem  emir.  The  free 
and  independent  Arabs  had  no  mind  to  prostrate 
themselves  before  a  mere  governor,  and  when  it 
was  whispered  that  Abd-al-AssIz,  to  please  his 
proud  Sultana,  was  wearing,  in  private,  the  crown 
of  King  Roderick,  his  doom  was  sealed. 

These  and  many  other  stories,  whether  authen- 

40 


SEVILLE 

tic  or  not,  indicate  what  is  doubtless  true,  that 
Egllona  aspired  to  an  independent  sovereignty  for 
her  Moslem  husband.  It  Is  even  possible  that 
her  desires  were  not  Inspired  by  ambition  alone, 
but  that  she  was  wise  enough  to  foresee  what  was 
inevitable  and  actually  came  to  pass  fifty  years 
later;  that  in  the  very  nature  of  the  case  Spain 
could  not  remain  a  dependency  of  the  Eastern 
Arabian    Empire. 

But  Egllona,  like  many  another,  paid  the  pen- 
alty of  living  before  her  time.  Swift  messengers 
carried  charges  to  the  Caliph,  and  as  swiftly  re- 
turned with  orders  for  the  Immediate  execution  of 
Abd-al-Assiz.  The  warrant  caused  the  keenest 
distress  to  some  of  those  charged  with  Its  execu- 
tion, who  happened  to  be  friends  of  the  family 
of  Musa.  Moreover,  the  army  was  known  to  be 
devotedly  attached  to  the  young  Emir,  both  of 
which  facts  testify  to  the  warm  personal  charm 
of  Abd-al-Assiz.  Some  difficulty,  therefore,  was 
found  In  finding  an  executioner.  But  the  com- 
mand of  the  Caliph  was  imperative,  and  Abd-al- 
Assiz  was  assassinated  while  upon  his  knees  en- 
gaged in  reciting  morning  prayers  in  the  mosque 
of  his  summer  palace  outside  of  Seville.  Thus 
perished  a  prince  of  whom  not  one  evil  report  has 
been  preserved,  and  with  his  death,  Egllona  van- 
ishes from  history.  Possibly  she  may  have  shared 
his   fate. 

4^ 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

A  few  of  the  rapidly  succeeding  emirs  kept 
their  courts  at  Seville,  but  constant  turmoil  marks 
even  these  periods  of  distinction,  and  with  the 
foundation  of  the  kingdom  of  Cordova,  Seville 
sank  to  the  secondary  position  which  she  was  to 
occupy  for  nearly  three  hundred  years.  During 
these  years  occasional  attempts  were  made  to 
establish  Independence,  and  now  and  then  a  tem- 
porary success  was  achieved.  But  revolt  and  in- 
subordination always  ended  with  victory  for  the 
arms  of  the  Caliph,  and  the  re-Incorporatlon  of 
Seville  Into  the  kingdom   dominated  by  Cordova. 

Accurate  or  detailed  accounts  of  the  material 
growth  of  Seville  during  this  period  are  wanting, 
and  few,  If  any,  of  the  monuments  of  the  time 
are  preserved  to-day.  But,  like  Toledo  and  Cor- 
dova, the  beauty  of  Seville  Is  extolled  by  Arabian 
poets  In  the  most  extravagant  phrases,  and  every- 
thing tends  to  prove  that  It  rivalled  the  northern 
cities   In    riches    and   splendour. 

The  Arab  population  of  Seville  was  drawn  from 
Emesa  in  Syria.  As  the  banner  of  Emesa  fol- 
lowed that  of  Damascus  In  the  procession  at 
Medina,  Its  Inhabitants  ranked  second  among  the 
followers  of  the  Prophet.  But  as  a  people  they 
were  light  and  frivolous,  given  to  indolence  and 
pleasure;  and  the  dissipation  and  luxury  which 
they  Introduced  Into  Seville  contributed  not  a  little 
to  Its  reputation   for  brightness  and  gayety. 

42 


SEVILLE 

The  city  Is  described  as  one  of  the  handsomest  In 
the  world.  Its  chief  glory  was  the  river,  usually 
known  as  the  WadI  Keblr  (great  river),  grad- 
ually changed  Into  Guadalquivir;  but  also  as  the 
WadI  Kortubah  (the  river  of  Cordova).  The 
Guadalquivir  was  navigable  for  what  were  then 
considered  large  vessels,  but  It  was  also  always 
crowded  with  pleasure  boats.  Its  banks  were  cov- 
ered with  fruit  trees  forming  a  "  sort  of  canopy 
over  It,  so  that  one  might  sail  on  It  sheltered 
from  the  rays  of  the  sun,  and  listening  to  the 
charming  melody  of  the  singing  birds."  The 
journey  along  Its  banks  Is  described  as  equally 
pleasant,  and  we  are  told  "  that  one  might  easily 
travel  for  a  distance  of  thirty  miles  through  clus- 
ters of  buildings  and  farmhouses,  high  towers,  and 
strong  castles,  forming  a  continuous  city."  Op- 
posite Seville  the  river  was  bridged  by  a  string 
of    boats    fastened    together    by    chains. 

Another  lover  of  the  great  river  describes  both 
banks  of  the  Guadalquivir  as  covered  with  pleas- 
ure gardens,  orchards,  vines,  and  yew  trees,  all  In 
such  profusion  that  It  Is  doubted  If  any  other 
river  in  the  world  could  compete  with  It.  Then 
this   enthusiastic   scribe   drops   into   verse. 

"The  breeze  falls  playfully  on  the  river,  and 
lifting  up  the  skirts  of  Its  robe  agitates  the  sur- 
face of  Its  waters;  the  stream,  resisting  the  out- 
rage, hastens  down  to  revenge  it." 

43 


BUILDERS  OF   SPAIN 

"The  ring-dove  laughs  on  its  bank  from  the 
excess  of  his  love,  and  the  whole  scene  is  covered 
with  a  veil  of  tranquillity  and  peace." 

As  the  olive  flourished  with  marked  luxuriance 
in  the  surrounding  country,  the  chief  article  of 
traffic  in  Seville  was  olive  oil.  A  hilly  district 
called  Axarafe  was  especially  prolific,  and  there, 
Arab  writers  tell  us,  olive  and'  fig  trees  were 
planted  so  thickly  as  to  afford  continuous  shade, 
on  the  hottest  summer  day,  to  the  passing  trav- 
eller. It  is  claimed  for  this  region  that  it  sur- 
passed in  beauty  and  fertility  every  other  spot 
on  the  face  of  the  earth;  that  its  hamlets  and  vil- 
lages were  superior  to  those  of  other  countries  in 
extent  and  commodiousness,  as  well  as  In  the  fine 
designs  and  ornament  of  their  homes,  which,  from 
their  continual  whitewashing,^  are  compared  to 
"  stars  in  a  sky  of  olive  trees." 

A  travelled  Sevillian,  upon  being  asked  to  com- 
pare Seville  with   Cairo   and  Bagdad,  replied: 

"Axarafe  is  a  forest  without  wild  beasts;  its 
river  a  Nile  without  crocodiles."  And  an  elo- 
quent poet  exclaimed: 

"  Seville  is  a  young  bride ;  her  husband  is 
Abbas.2  Her  diadem  Axarafe;  her  necklace  the 
river." 

Seville  is  further  praised  for  the  mildness  of  .Its 

1  Probably  tinted  with  pink,  blue  or  yellow,  as  to-day. 

2  The   Sultan   then   reigning. 

44 


Giralda,  Seville. 


SEVILLE 

climate,  the  purity  of  Its  air,  Its  fine  buildings, 
good  streets,  abundance  of  provisions,  and  com- 
modities of  all  sorts.  Indeed  so  overflowing  were 
Its  markets  that  It  became  a  common  saying  In 
Andalusia:  *' If  thou  seekest  for  birds'  milk,  by 
Allah!   thou  shalt  find  It  In  Seville." 

The  houses  of  Seville- were  provided  with  run- 
ning water,  their  spacious  courts  were  planted 
with  fruit  trees,  and,  as  a  last  refinement  of  lux- 
ury, the  beautiful  palaces  built  on  Roman  ruins 
are  said  to  have  been  warmed  In  winter  and 
cooled  In  summer  by  scented  air  brought  In  pipes 
from  beds  of  flowers. 

Al-Makkari  describes  the  inhabitants  of  this 
paradise  as  the  merriest  people  on  earth,  always 
singing,  playing  on  various  Instruments,  and  drink- 
ing wine.  Musical  instruments  of  all  sorts,  he 
tells  us,  were  not  only  to  be  procured  at  any  time 
in  Seville,  but  were  also  manufactured  there  with 
the  greatest  skill.  "There  wilt  thou  find,"  he 
writes,  *'the  khiyal,  the  kerbehh,^  the  oud,^  the 
rotteh,  the  rahah,^  the  kanun,^  the  munis  the 
kaunerah,   the   ghinar,   the   zalemi,    the   shakurah,'^ 

3  Kerbehh,  probably  a  kind  of  timbrel,  also  called  a  sieve  from 
its  similitude  of  form  to  that  utensil. 

*  Oud,  a  kind  of  lute. 

"  Rabab,  a  kind  of  viol,  modern  Spanish  arrabel,  a  small  viol 
with  three  strings,  chiefly  used  by  shepherds. 

®  Kanun,  Persian  for  a  kind  of  dulcimer. 

■^  Shakurah,  a  lute. 

45 


BUILDERS  OF   SPAIN 

the  nurdh^  and  the  hok*^^  Many  of  these  were 
found  in  other  cities  of  "Andalus/'  but  nowhere 
In  such  numbers  as  in  Seville. 

Even  without  these  extravagant  praises  of  the 
Arab  poets,  a  high  place  among  Spanish  cities 
must  have  been  given  to  Seville.  The  fertility  of 
Its  surrounding  districts  almost  vied  with  that  of 
the  vega  of  Granada,  while  as  a  commercial  cen- 
tre, Its  location  gave  Seville  an  Importance  second 
to  no  city  in  the  peninsula.  Its  port  was  accessi- 
ble to  ships  from  any  part  of  the  world  then 
known,  and  it  was  the  natural  outlet  for  the  fer- 
tile southwestern  plains  of  Spain.  The  markets 
of  Seville,  therefore,  became  the  exchange  where 
the  lucious  products  of  Andalusia  were  bartered 
for  the  rich  treasures  of  the  Orient. 

But  with  all  Its  beauty  and  luxury,  the  busi- 
ness of  Seville  was  soon  largely  left  to  its  Jewish 
and  Mozarabic  population.  With  their  passion- 
ate love  of  freedom  and  disdain  for  the  traffic  of 
cities,  the  noble  Arab  chiefs  gradually  retired  to 
their  extensive  estates  in  the  surrounding  hills; 
visiting  Seville  only  to  maintain  their  control  over 
It,  or  for  devotions  in  its  great  mosque,  obliga- 
tory upon  all  good  Moslems  every   Friday. 

Seville    itself,    therefore,    was    more    and    more 

8  Nurah,   a  lute.  ®  Bok,  a  clarionet.  . 

The  nature  of  the  other  instruments  mentioned  is  either  unknown 
or  uncertain. 

46 


SEVILLE 

given  up  to  a  subject  population.  Among  them 
the  Jews  were  not  only  all-powerful  in  commerce, 
but  soon  took  a  high  rank 'In  Intellectual  pursuits; 
producing  scholars,  scientists,  poets,  and  even 
poetesses,  of  brilliant  powers  and  attainments. 
When  the  Jewish  poet,  Ben  Sahl,  who  was  noted 
for  the  tenderness  of  his  strain,  was  drowned  at 
sea,  another  very  happily  observed  that,  "The 
Pearl  had  only  returned  to  Its  shell."  A  most 
gifted  SevUlIana  was  the  Jewess  Miriam,  who 
taught  rhetoric,  poetry,  and  literature,  and  whose 
piety  and  amiability  are  said  to  have  rendered  her 
an  ornament  to  her  sex,  as  well  as  a  bright  star 
In   the   learned   and   polished   society   of   Seville. 

The  chief  activities  of  Seville,  however,  were 
commercial,  and  with  Its  growth  In  prosperity  and 
wealth,  and  consequent  Increase  of  power,  col- 
lisions with  the  domineering  absentee  Arab  nobles 
became  more  and  more  frequent.  At  length  the 
strife  assumed  such  proportions  that  the  Arabs 
called  In  the  assistance  of  semi-savage  Berber 
bandits,  who  were  always  to  be  found  roving  and 
ravaging  the  c6untry.  In  the  end,  the  entire 
region  was  swept  by  these  hordes  of  outlaws,  and 
the  Mozarabe  population  of  Seville  was  practi- 
cally annihilated.  Memories  of  the  horrors  of 
this  scourge  are  still  to  be  found  In  the  traditions 
and  minstrelsy  of  Seville. 

During  the  ninth  century,   another  grievous  vls- 

47 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

itation  was  an  invasion  of  Norman  barbarians 
who,  after  effecting  landings  and  Inflicting  heavy 
damages  on  the  coasts  of  the  Asturias,  and  in  Lis- 
bon, reached  Cadiz  and  ascended  the  Guadalquivir. 
The  fierce  aspect  of  these  Northern  vikings  every- 
where spread  terror  before  them.  It  was  not  un- 
til rumours  of  a  national  uprising,  which  threat- 
ened to  cut  off  their  retreat,  reached  their  ears 
that  they  were  to  forced  to  take  to  their  ships. 
In  the  meantime,  however,  the  suburbs  of  Se- 
ville had  been  occupied  and  sacked,  and  the 
splendid  new  mosque  in  the  city  destroyed.  The 
date  of  the  erection  of  this  mosque  is  uncertain; 
of  its  style  and  appearance  we  are  only  told  that 
it  occupied  the  site  of  the  earlier  Roman  church 
of  St.  Vincente,  and  that  it  was  modelled  after  the 
one   at   Cordova. 

After  the  reimpositlon  of  the  yoke  of  Cordova 
by  Abd-al-Rahman  III.,  Seville  remained  fairly 
submissive  to  the  Omeyad  caliphs  until  the  over- 
throw of  that  house.  Then,  however,  she  was 
one  of  the  first  among  the  cities  of  the  peninsula 
to  assert  her  independence,  and  so  great  was  her 
power  and  wealth,  that  Seville  soon  aspired  to 
nothing  less  than  the  succession  to  the  position 
earlier  held  by  Cordova;  an  ambition  very  nearly 
fulfilled.  The  princes  under  whom  Seville  rose 
to  such  a  high  degree  of  power  were  of  the  house 
of  Abbad,  whose  dynasty  was  founded  by  a  su- 
preme   judge    of    Seville,    Mahomet    Abul    Kasin. 

48 


SEVILLE 

The  most  powerful  of  these  kinglets,  Motamld 
IL,  as  already  narrated,  accomplished  the  ruin  of 
his  house;  but  before  that  was  brought  to  pass, 
he  had  exhausted  most  of  the  possibilities  of  life. 
A  poet  of  no  mean  repute,  and  a  patron  of  learn- 
ing second  to  few  in  the  history  of  Moslem 
Spain,  Motamld  was  also  fierce  and  sensual;  over- 
riding all  ties  or  obligations  in  the  pursuit  of  his 
ambitions,  and  revelling  in  perfidies  and  cruelties 
which    are    happily    seldom    paralleled. 

The  rulers  of  Ronda  were  suspected  by  Mota- 
mld of  treachery.  They  were  therefore  invited  to 
send,  upon  a  friendly  mission,  a  large  embassy 
to  the  court  at  Seville.  A  party  of  sixty  horse- 
men, splendidly  mounted  and  richly  equipped, 
were  soon  at  the  gates.  There  they  were  wel- 
comed with  every  mark  of  esteem,  and  at  once 
conducted  to  apartments  furnished  with  the  most 
sumptuous  appointments,  chief  among  which  were 
the  luxurious  baths  so  highly  esteemed  by  all  Mos- 
lem peoples.  With  true  hospitality,  the  visitors 
were  left  to  the  enjoyment  of  their  ablutions. 
But  long  before  the  stains  of  travel  were  re- 
moved, the  ambassadors  began  to  feel  uncomfort- 
ably warm.  An  effort  was  made  to  open  windows 
or  doors,  but  all  were  found  sealed  and  even 
walled  up,  and  the  next  day  sixty  steaming 
corpses  were  taken  out  of  these  royal  guest 
chambers. 

Although    himself    an    Arab,    Motamld    at    one 

49 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

time  planned  to  murder  at  one  blow  all  the  Arabs 
in  Seville,  thinking  thus  to  frustrate  an  imagi- 
nary plot  against  his  life.  The  wholesale  assassi- 
nation was  planned  to  take  place  In  the  chief 
mosque  on  Friday,  when  It  was  usually  crowded. 
But  a  warning  was  given,  and  the  empty  temple 
admonished  the  King,  not  only  that  his  plot  was 
betrayed,  but  that  he  had  needlessly  created  a 
new  crop  of  enemies. 

A  gruesome  decoration  of  the  royal  palace  was 
the  rows  of  sealed  jars  in  which  Motamid  pre- 
served the  skulls  of  his  vanquished  enemies.  One 
writer  asserts  that  the  value  of  these  skulls  was 
enhanced  by  setting  them  with  jewels;  diamonds 
flashed  from  eye  sockets,  and  diadems  of  precious 
stones  encircled  the  temples.  Motamld's  garden, 
also,  was  embellished  with  the  same  ghastly 
trophies;  rows  of  skulls  polished  to  a  snowy 
whiteness  being  made  to  serve  as  pots  for  the 
growth  of  flowers,  each  skull  bearing  upon  a 
label  the  name  and  offence  of  Its  owner.  Al- 
Makkari  tells  us  that  there  was  nothing  Mota- 
mid liked  so  much  as  to  look  at  this  enclosure, 
and  that  he  used  to  spend  the  greater  part  of 
his  time  In  gazing  at  It,  but  he  also  observes 
that  the  tyrant  would  sometimes  weep  and  feel 
compassion    for    his   victims. 

After    an    unsuccessful     campaign     against    the 
Christians,  even  the  crafty  Motamid  was  for  the 

50 


SEVILLE 

moment  nonplussed  by  the  demand  of  Ferdinand 
IL,  of  Leon,  as  one  of  the  conditions  of  peace, 
for  the  delivery  of  the  relics  of  Sts.  Justa  and 
Rufina.  The  Moslem  King  had  no  desire  to  keep 
the  precious  bones.  But  where  was  he  to  find 
them  I  For  over  three  hundred  years  no  one  had 
given  them  a  thought,  and  here  was  an  embassy 
armed  to  the  teeth,  headed  by  two  powerful 
bishops,  who  were  charged  not  to  return  without 
them. 

The  difficulty  was  finally  solved  in  the 
good  old  way.  A  miraculous  vision  was  vouch- 
safed to  one  of  the  bishops,  in  which  he  was  per- 
suaded that  the  bones  of  St.  Isidore  possessed 
far  more  national  importance  than  those  of  the 
SevIUIan  tutelars.  Then,  the  whereabouts  of  St. 
Isidore's  bones  being  revealed  by  a  divine  odour, 
the  embassy  was  sent  upon  its  way  rejoicing. 
It  is  said  that  MotamId  made  a  great  show  of 
sorrow  at  being  compelled  to  part  with  so  pre- 
cious a  treasure,  and  that,  in  token  of  his  great 
esteem  for  the  saintly  bishop,  he  covered  the  bier 
of  the  departing  relics  with  a  magnificent  robe. 
We  are  also  told  that  the  journey  of  the  precious 
bones  Into  the  north  was  constantly  accompanied 
by  miracles.  Each  day  when  the  embassy  desired 
to  set  out.  It  was  found  Impossible  to  lift  the 
bier  from  the  place  where  it  had  rested  during 
the    night    until    the    Inhabitants    had    agreed    to 

51 


BUILDERS  OF   SPAIN 

found  a  church  there.  Thus,  as  has  been  clev- 
erly said,  was  quickly  accomplished  what  is  now-a- 
days  the  work  of  the  prolonged  and  organized 
labours  of  a   Church-Building  Society. 

The  appearance  of  the  young  King,  Alfonso 
VI.,  of  Leon  and  Castile,  before  the  walls  of 
Seville,  at  the  head  of  the  largest  Christian 
army  that  had  ever  menaced  the  city,  was  the 
signal  for  widespread  dismay.  As  usual,  the  city 
was  totally  unprepared  for  attack  and,  with  no 
practical  defences,  was  absolutely  at  the  mercy  of 
the  Christian  army.  But  curiously  enough,  the 
passion  of  a  royal  chess  player  for  his  game  saved 
the  day. 

Among  the  possessions  of  Motamid  was  a  most 
marvellous  chess  board.  It  was  constructed  of 
sandal  and  other  precious  woods,  mounted  in  solid 
gold,  and  set  with  precious  stones.  Armed  with 
this  costly  toy,  a  clever  diplomat  of  the  Mos- 
lem court  paid  a  visit  to  the  Christian  camp. 
There,  as  though  by  accident,  Alfonso  was  per- 
mitted to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  jewelled  board. 
As  the  Christian  King  had  recently  learned  the 
game  and  was  proud  of  his  skill  In  playing  it,  he 
at  once  challenged  the  Moslem,  also  a  famous 
player,  to  a  contest;  the  game  to  be  played  on 
the  costly  board,  which  was  to  be  forfeit  to  the 
winner.  But  the  Moslem,  although  willing  to 
run    the    risk    of    losing    his    board,    desired    also 

52 


SEVILLE  '      ^ 

to  have  a  chance  to  win  something,  and  stipulated 
that,  If  the  game  fell  to  him,  his  first  request 
should  be  granted.  Naturally,  Alfonso  at  once 
refused  so  Insidious  a  proposal,  but  the  Arab  con- 
tinued to  dangle  the  glittering  bauble,  with  ^the 
temptation  of  a  really  great  game,  before  the 
eyes  of  the  young  monarch.  The  lure  finally 
proved  too  strong  to  be  resisted,  and  the  con- 
test was  begun. 

Both  players  were  soon' absorbed  In  their  play, 
the  swarthy,  white-turbaned  Arab  with  his  serious 
mien,  and  the  keener  visaged  but  less  subtile  Visi- 
gothlc  King;  each  equally  oblivious,  as  they  sat 
in  the  door  of  the  royal  tent,  to  the  bustle  of 
the  vast  army,  and  even  heedless  of  the  beauty 
of  the  broad  plains  surrounding  the  white  walls 
of  the  beleaguered  city  whose  fate  hung  upon  the 
issue  of  their  game.  As  the  contest  proceeded, 
it  soon  became  apparent  that  Alfonso  was  no 
match  for  his  more  practiced  antagonist.  Indeed, 
it  was  the  Arabs  who  had  introduced  chess  Into 
Spain,  and  who  had  inherited  skill  in  Its  tactics 
for  hundreds  of  years.  With  his  defeat,  the 
Christian  King  had  the  additional  mortification  of 
listening  to  a  request,  which  he  was  already 
pledged  to  grant,  demanding  his  unconditional 
evacuation  of  Andalusia.  For  a  moment  there 
was  danger  that  Alfonso  would  disregard  his 
oath,  but  a  promise  of  double  tribute  finally  eased 

53 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

the  strained  situation,  and  Seville  was  delivered, 
for  the  time,  from  the  danger  of  Christian 
conquest. 

Although  so  weakly  defended  by  Motamid, 
Seville,  under  him,  was  raised  to  a  marked  degree 
of  prosperity.  With  a  population  of  four  hun- 
dred thousand,  with  streets  paved  and  lighted, 
and  with  splendid  monuments  which  doubtless 
vied  with  those  of  Cordova,  but  of  which,  alas, 
we  have  only  descriptions  preserved  to  us,  Seville 
reached  the  zenith  of  her  power  In  the  subjuga- 
tion of  the  earlier  Moslem  capital.  But  there 
was  no  solid  foundation  for  wide  or  long-con- 
tinued domination.  Not  only  Alfonso  of  Leon 
and  Castile,  but  other  Christian  kings,  were  a 
growing  menace  which  might  not  again  be  bought 
off  with  a  garne  of  chess. 

Finally,  awakened  to  the  danger  of  his  situa- 
tion, Motamid  called  together  representatives 
from  his  subject  cities,  with  the  result  that  an 
appeal  for  aid  was  sent  across  the  straits  to  the 
already  famous  African  conqueror,  Yussef-al- 
Tashfin.  With  the  memory  of  their  own  not 
long  distant  conquest.  It  seems  Incredible  that  only 
two  votes  were  cast  against  this  most  dangerous 
proceeding.  The  history  of  the  Almoravldan 
leader  Tashfin  was  well  known  In  Andalusia.  Al 
Raxld,   the   son   of   Motamid,   with  prophetic  wls- 

54 


SEVILLE 

dom,  protested:  "This  Tashfin,  who  has  sub- 
dued all  that  he  pleased,  will  serve  us  as  he  has 
already  served  the  people  of  Mauritania,  he  will 
expel  us  from  our  country. " 

"  Anything  "  replied  his  father,  "  rather  than 
that  Andalusia  should  become  the  prey  of  the 
Christians.  I  would  rather  become  a  driver  of 
Tashfin^s  camels  than  reign  dependent  on  these 
Christian   dogs." 

For  a  time  a  measure  of  success  crowned  the 
efforts  of  the  allied  Moslem  armies,  but  It  was 
very  soon  demonstrated  that  there  could  be  no 
real  unity  between  the  half-barbarous  Africans 
and  their  more  civilized  Spanish  brethren.  After 
a  successful  expedition  Into  the  north,  Tashfin 
with  some  of  his  followers  returned  to  Seville 
as  the  guests  of  Motamld.  There  their  cupidity 
was  aroused  by  the  splendour  of  the  Moslem  court, 
and  their  disdain  by  Its  weakness  and  effeminacy. 
Perceiving  that  his  unguarded  attitude  had  awak- 
ened suspicion,  Yussef  suddenly  took  his  de- 
parture, while  Motamld,  at  last  alive  to  this  new 
danger,  appealed  to  Alfonso  of  Leon  and  Castile; 
and,  as  before  narrated,  even  sealed  an  alliance 
with  that  Prince  by  the  gift  of  his  daughter  In 
marriage.  But  the  Africans  were  already  at  the 
gates  of  Seville,  and  Motamld,  caught  nerve- 
less   after    a    long    debauch,    was    forced    to    yield 

55 


BUILDERS  OF   SPAIN 

up  his  sovereignty  and  the  balance  of  power  In 
Moslem  Spain  to  Tashfin,  who  became  the  first 
of   the    Almoravldan    kings. 

On  the  principle  that  any  change  from  the  rul^* 
of  the  now  execrated  Motamid  must  be  for  the 
better,  the  Almoravldan  governors  were  at  first 
welcomed.  But  their  oppressions  and,  even  more, 
their  barbarities,  soon  rendered  them  equally  de- 
tested, and  after  fifty  years  of  misgovernment,  Se- 
ville was  treasonably  delivered  Into  the  hands  of 
their  successors,  the  Almohades.  The  latter  were 
scarcely  less  barbarous  than  the  rulers  they  had 
supplanted,  and  like  them  they  ruled  their  Span- 
ish kingdom  from  Africa.  But  one  Almohadan 
king,  Yussef  I.,  who  ascended  the  throne  in  1190, 
was  possessed  of  most  uncommon  abilities  as  well 
as  an  excellent  education.  Moreover,  what  was 
of  most  Importance  to  Spain,  he  resided  for  a 
time   In    Seville. 

Yussef  I.  Immediately  set  about  Improving  his 
Andalusian  capital:  and  whether  or  not  earlier 
monuments  had  been  destroyed,  or  had  only  fallen 
into  decay  during  the  century  of  disorder  which 
had  preceded  him,  nothing  of  Importance  In  Se- 
ville to-day  dates  earlier  than  this  reign.  Al- 
though Yussef  is  said  to  have  spent  but  a  year 
in  Seville,  a  perfectly  astounding  list  of  public 
works  Is  credited  to  him.  Possibly  some  were 
only  begun,  but  even  so,  the  bare  undertaking  of 

56 


SEVILLE 

so  much  indicates  an  amazing  activity.  The  old 
Roman  aqueduct  was  repaired  and  enlarged.  A 
bridge  of  boats  was  built  across  the  Guadal- 
quivir; probably  likewise  a  rebuilding  of  an  earlier 
work.  Walls  which  also  served  as  quays,  were 
constructed  to  confine  the  river  within  Its  banks. 
These  quays  were  provided  with  stairways  for  the 
loading  and  unloading  of  merchandise,  and  with 
warehouses  and  places  of  exchange.  Walls  were 
built  for  the  defence  of  the  city,  which  was  also 
guarded  by  towers.  Of  the  latter,  the  only  one 
of  great  importance  remaining  is  the  well-known 
Torre  del  Oro,  which  long  united  the  defences 
of  the  Alcazar  with  those  of  the  city.  But  more 
pretentious  than  all  other  public  works  begun  by 
Yussef  were  the  new  great  mosque  with  its  lofty 
tower,    and   a   new   Alcazar. 

The  mosque  occupied  the  site  of  the  earlier 
one  destroyed  by  the  Normans,  and  like  it,  is 
said  to  have  been  modelled  after  the  famous 
mosque  of  Cordova.  Its  dimensions  were  four 
hundred  and  fourteen  feet  by  two  hundred  and 
seventy.  The  entire  enclosure,  which  Included  the 
court,  was  surrounded  by  a  wall  crowned  by 
stepped  battlements.  As  African  battlements  were 
weathered.  It  is  not  improbable  that  some  por- 
tions of  the  earlier  walls,  with  their  original 
eastern  battlements,  had  been  preserved  and  were 
now  re-used.     The  battlements  were  painted  many 

57 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

colours  Instead  of  being  all  red,  as  at  Cordova,  or 
white,  as  at  the  Alhambra.  The  court  was  set 
out  with  orange  trees  and  furnished  with  foun- 
tains. The  mosque  Itself  Is  said  to  have  been 
built  with  columns  from  pagan  temples,  and  em- 
bellished with  arabesque  decorations,  alabastar  lat- 
tices, bronze  lamps,  and  doors  inlaid  with  rare 
woods    or    covered    with    metal    plates. 

Much  of  the  above  and  other  details  of  de- 
scription given  of  the  Sevlllian  mosque  are  pure 
surmise.  Furthermore,  while  its  general  form  was 
much  the  same  as  the  famous  mosque  at  Cor- 
dova, It  Is  most  probable  that  the  Sevillian  fab- 
ric displayed  a  much  freer  use  of  brick  and 
stucco.  Both  materials  were  essentially  African, 
and  the  tower  of  this  Berber  mosque  at  Seville, 
which,  except  for  Its  upper  stage,  has  survived, 
owes  its  chief  beauty  to  panels  of  arabesques  In 
relief,  executed  In  brick  work,  of  the  utmost  dis- 
tinction  of   style   and   elegance   of   finish. 

As  already  pointed  out,  this  minaret  or  tower, 
now  called  the  Giralda,  Is  the  most  Impor- 
tant monument  left  in  Spain  of  the  middle  Mos- 
lem period,  and  after  a  study  of  Its  design  and 
workmanship,  one  is  inclined  to  question  the  repu- 
tation of  the  Berbers  as  a  rude  and  barbarous 
people.  With  a  base  fifty  feet  square,  the  Gi- 
ralda Is  built  to  a  height  of  eighty-seven  feet 
with    smooth    blocks    of    warmly    tinted    yellowish 

58 


SEVILLE 

stone  polished  until  the  rosy  surface  shines  like 
glass.  Above  this  solid  foundation  the  construc- 
tion Is  of  brick  of  a  similar  tone,  but  given  an 
exquisite  relief  of  light  and  shade  by  the  afore- 
said panels  of  arabesques.  The  balconied  ajimiez 
windows  are  set  in  such  panels  and  flanked  by 
others.  The  lines  of  the  traceries  In  each  panel 
rise  from  the  arches  of  low  arcades  and,  inter- 
lacing above,  produce  flat  decorative  designs  of 
striking   grace   and   elegance. 

To-day  these  designs  derive  all  their  beauty 
from  their  effects  of  light  and  shade,  but,  as  In  the 
case  of  the  Parthenon,  and  now,  also,  with  that  of 
the  Gothic  Cathedrals,  we  are  taught  that  much 
of  the  early  splendour  of  the  Giralda  was  due  to 
brilliant  colour.  As  In  the  decoration  of  the  Al- 
hambra,  the  reliefs  of  these  Impanelled  arabesques 
were  yellow  or  gold,  against  a  background  of 
scarlet  and  blue.  And  when  to  this  brilliance  of  de- 
sign was  added  a  crown  of  battlements,  doubtless 
painted  like  those  of  the  wall  below  in  many 
colours;  when  this  structure  was  surmounted  by 
another  smaller  tower  ornamented  in  a  like  man- 
ner, from  whose  apex  rose  an  upright  gilded 
bar  sustaining  four  bronze  globes  of  diminishing 
size,  the  largest  twenty  feet  in  diameter,  all  not 
only  plated  with  gold,  but  deeply  grooved  to  re- 
flect the  light;  then,  indeed,  the  splendour  of 
this  minaret  must  have  been  bewildering,  and  well 

59 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

calculated  to  overpower  the  dazzled  eyes  of  a 
stranger  approaching  it  for  the  first  time. 

In  form  and  construction,  the  Giralda  strongly 
resembles  the  now  fallen  Campanile  at  Venice, 
and  doubtless  both  originally  followed  Byzantine 
models.  The  walls  of  the  Sevlllian  tower  are 
nine  feet  in  thickness  at  the  base,  and  grow 
thicker  as  they  ascend.  The  ascent  is  made  by 
thirty-five  ramps  built  between  an  outer  and  in- 
ner wall.  The  tower  was  completed,  in  the 
twelfth  century,  as  originally  designed,  by  Abu 
Layth,  a  Sicilian  architect  and  engineer,  under 
whose  supervision  the  gilded  bar  with  its  four  daz- 
zling globes  was  raised  to  its  place  at  the  apex 
of  the  pinnacle,  a  feat  which  may  even  yet  com- 
mand a  high  degree  of  respect. 

Under  the  Almohade  kings,  the  royal  palace 
at  Seville  became  a  group  of  palaces  known  as 
the  Alcazares,  all  surrounded  by  a  wall  built  on  a 
triangle,  whose  apex  was  covered  by  the  Torre 
del  Oro.  Within  this  enclosure  were  extensive 
gardens,  and  some  of  the  various  buildings  are 
believed  to  have  incorporated  remains  of  the  old 
palace  of  the  Roman  governor.  The  splendour 
of  many  of  the  halls  and  pavilions  within  this 
enclosure  may  be  surmised  from  the  beauty  of 
the  Giralda,  as  well  as  from  written  descriptions. 
But  these  African  kings  also  made  It  strong.  Un- 
der them  the  Alcazares  became  the  stronghold 
of  Seville,   and   Seville   one   of  the   best   fortified 

60 


SEVILLE 

cities  of  Europe.  The  need  of  such  defences  was 
rapidly  assuming  a  vital  importance,  for  the  kings 
of  Castile  were  fast  advancing  into  the  south, 
and  when  the  Moslem  King  of  the  new  kingdom 
of  Granada,  as  his  only  hope  of  self-preserva- 
tion, yielded  vassalage  to  the  Christian  King,  Fer- 
dinand, the  desperate  situation  of  Seville  was  re- 
vealed. 

But  this  time  Seville  was  prepared  to  make  a 
stubborn  resistance,  and  with  her  strong  defences 
and  vast  wealth,  much  might  be  hoped  for. 
Realizing  the  difficulties  of  the  undertaking.  King 
Ferdinand  began  his  operations  by  a  complete 
devastation  of  the  surrounding  country.  For 
leagues  in  every  direction  the  view  was  obscured 
by  the  smoke  of  burning  homes  and  orchards, 
and  in  the  end  every  leaf  was  trampled  into  the 
earth.  An  appeal  for  Moslem  aid  was  sent  to 
Africa,  and  twenty  galleys  attempted  to  ascend 
the  Guadalquivir  for  the  relief  of  the  beleaguered 
city,  but  they  were  met  by  a  Christian  squadron, 
and,  in  the  battle  which  resulted,  the  latter  were 
victorious.  It  was  Christian  rather  than  Moslem 
ships,  therefore,  which  finally  appeared  before  the 
walls  of   Seville. 

The  arrival  of  these  vessels  completed  the 
blockade,  whose  Inflexible  purpose  was  already  in- 
dicated by  the  substantial  quarters  erected  for  the 
Castillan  army.  As  the  double  wall  and  moat 
which    surrounded    Seville    were    sufficiently   strong 

6i 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

to  repel  almost  any  possible  mediaeval  means  of 
attack,  few  offensive  operations  were  at  first  at- 
tempted; the  chief  efforts  of  the  besiegers  being 
directed  to  the  prevention  of  the  entry  of  sup- 
plies. Only  the  bridge  of  boats,  which  still  served 
to  connect  Seville  with  the  suburb  of  Triana  on 
the  opposite  bank,  remained  to  render  the  block- 
ade occasionally  Ineffective.  Its  destruction,  there- 
fore, was  early  determined  upon  by  the  Cas- 
tUIans.  The  first  attempt  was  made  by  means 
of  fire  rafts  which  were  floated  down  the  stream, 
but  they  drifted  ashore  before  they  struck  the 
bridge.  Then  boats  laden  with  stone  were  floated 
against  it,  and  these  finally  broke  the  connecting 
chains,  and  sent  the  loosened  fragments  of  the 
bridge   swinging-   against   the   banks. 

But  the  loss  of  the  bridge  appeared  to  have 
little  effect  upon  the  stubborn  spirit  of  the  deter- 
mined city,  and  month  after  month  the  siege 
dragged  on.  The  CastUIan  army  was  reinforced 
by  Christian  cavaliers  from  all  over  Spain,  and 
even  from  elsewhere  In  Europe;  for  warfare 
against  the  Moslems  In  Spain  had  everywhere 
become  a  Crusade.  Then  there  were  subject  Mos- 
lem princes  who  were  compelled  to  serve  under 
Ferdinand.  Among  them  was  Mahomet-al- 
Hamar  of  Granada  with  the  five  hundred  horse- 
men demanded  by  his  terms  of  vassalage. 

At  length,   tiring  of  inaction,  the  besiegers  con- 

62 


SEVILLE 

structed  huge  catapults  for  the  projection  of  enor- 
mous masses  of  stone,  and  tall  movable  towers, 
by  means  of  which  an  effort  was  made  to  gain 
a  foothold  on  the  walls.  Both  armies  were  ac- 
quainted with  the  secret  of  Greek  fire,  and  many 
of  these  ponderous  engines  were  attacked  by  it 
and  destroyed  before  they  had  performed  any 
actual  service.  We  are  also  told  of  a  machine 
for  shooting  arrows  which  was  a  sort  of  gatling 
gun.  By  means  of  It,  one  hundred  arrows  could 
be  shot  at  once,  and  with  such  force  that  they 
penetrated  steel   armour. 

The  stout  walls  of  Seville  were  soon  battered 
and  defaced,  but  their  actual  strength  was  still 
practically  unimpaired  when,  at  the  end  of  seven- 
teen months,  hunger  compelled  Its  capitulation. 
The  terms  were  much  the  same  as  those  granted 
to  Toledo  and  Cordova,  and  promised  freedom 
and  retention  of  property  to  all  Moslems  who 
wished  to  remain  subject  to  the  crown  of  Castile. 
The  chief  hardship  was  the  surrender  of  the 
great  mosque  with  Its  minaret,  the  latter  the 
pride  of  all  Moslem  hearts.  Rather  than  allow 
it  to  become  an  ornament  to  a  Christian  city,  it 
was  proposed  to  destroy  it.  But  Ferdinand  had 
no  mind  to  lose  the  most  glorious  monument  of 
his  victory,  and  sent  word  that  If  a  single  stone 
of  the  tower  were  disturbed  he  would  massacre 
every   Moslem   In  Seville. 

63 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

As  a  fitting  climax  to  the  long  siege,  the  entry 
of  the  conquering  army  was  made  imposing  and 
spectacular,  the  Castlllan  King  being  attended  by 
a  long  list  of  princes  and  grandees.  At  the  gate 
of  the  city  he  was  met  by  a  deputation  which  de- 
livered the  key  of  Seville.  This  key,  which  is 
still  preserved.  Is  the  smaller  one  of  the  two  now 
to  be  seen  in  the  treasury  of  the  cathedral.  Aside, 
from  Its  historic  interest,  It  Is  valuable  as  a 
work  of  Saracenic  art,  but  the  cufic  characters 
which  cover  its  wards  have  never  been  satisfac- 
torily interpreted.  As  In  Cordova,  the  entry  of 
Ferdinand  found  the  city  practically  deserted. 
Three  hundred  thousand  Moslems,  it  is  esti- 
mated, had  already  taken  their  departure.  The 
conquerors  at  once  made  their  way  to  the  great 
mosque,  which  was  immediately  purified  and  con- 
secrated to  Christian  worship,  and  in  the 
(days  following,  the  same  ceremonies  were  cele- 
brated  In   a   large  number   of  smaller  mosques. 

Evidence  of  the  Importance  of  Seville  is  found 
in  the  fact  that  St.  Ferdinand  at  once  made  it 
the  capital  of  his  now  largely  augmented  king- 
dom of  Castile.  Thither  he  removed  his  court, 
and  there  he  took  up  his  residence  in  the  Al- 
cazar-Citadel, whose  stout  walls  had  so  long  de- 
fied his  arms.  In  Seville,  as  elsewhere,  Ferdi- 
nand engaged  in  that  persecution  of  heretics  which 
gave  him  his  best-known  title,  that  of  saint,   and 

64 


SEVILLE 

there  he  spent  the  final  four  years  of  his  great 
reign.  With  the  approach  of  death,  the  deeply 
religious  mind  of  the  King  found  solace  In  the 
practice  of  the  most  extreme  rigours,  and  the  end 
found  him  kneeling  upon  the  bare  earth  with  a 
rope  around  his  neck.  Thus,  In  the  attitude  of 
a  convict,   he  received  the  last  sacrament. 

Rarely  has  Seville  witnessed  a  more  magnifi- 
cent pageant  than  the  funeral  of  St.  Ferdinand. 
Among  other  deputations  sent  to  do  him  honour, 
were  a  hundred  Moslem  nobles  from  Granada. 
They  were  clad  In  the  deepest  mourning,  and 
bore  lighted  tapers.  The  body  was  borne  to  the 
great  mosque-cathedral;  and  In  the  fabric  which 
has  since  replaced  It,  the  remains  of  St.  Ferdi- 
nand still  occupy  the  centre  of  the  chief  shrine. 

Although  the  Moslems  accepted  their  defeat  as 
final,  and  made  no  attempt  to  retake  Seville,  the 
city  did  not  lack  excitement  during  the  early 
years  of  Christian  rule.  The  people  being  turbu- 
lent as  ever  among  themselves,  there  was  always 
a  party  arrayed  against  the  reigning  king.  Some- 
times, also,  his  seat  was  contested  by  his  broth- 
ers, and  once  at  least  by  a  son  and  heir,  who 
found  waiting  for  the  natural  course  of  events 
far  too  tedious.  This  undutiful  prince,  Sancho, 
who  finally  became  Sancho  the  Brave,  even  en- 
listed the  assistance  of  a  Moslem  army  from 
Africa    in    open    warfare    against    his    father,    Al- 

65 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

fonso  X.  But  Seville  stood  by  Alfonso  and 
fought  for  him,  and  In  return,  Alfonso  granted 
the  city  the  badge  which  still  remains  the  chief 
figure  In  her  coat  of  arms.  El  nodo,  as  It  Is 
called,  Is  usually  rendered,  "No  8  Do,"  the  8 
representing  a  hank  of  yarn,  which.  In  Spanish, 
is  Madeja.  The  entire  figure  reads,  No  m'ha 
deja  do,   "  It  has  not  deserted   me." 

As  elsewhere,  the  Christian  occupation  entailed 
a  rudeness  of  life  whose  result  was  the  early  de- 
facement of  Moslem  monuments.  Even  as  early 
as  the  visit  of  Mahomet  II.,  of  Granada,  the  delicate 
bloom  of  Saracenic  art  had  been  largely  tarnished. 
The  situation  of  Seville  rendered  Its  absolute  ruin 
well-nigh  Impossible,  but  Its  prosperity  had  re- 
ceived a  heavy  blow,  and  until  the  fourteenth 
century,  little.  If  any,  effort  was  made  toward 
supplying  the  places  of  Moslem  buildings,  which, 
when  not  wantonly  destroyed,  were  allowed  to 
crumble  to  decay. 

It  was  not  until  the  reign  of  Pedro  the  Cruel 
that  repairs  of  any  moment  were  undertaken  in 
connection  with  the  old  Alcazares,  and  then  it 
was  found  necessary  to  Import  workmen  from 
Granada.  The  result  was  the  rebuilding  of  the 
portion  of  the  palace  which  Is  preserved  to-day. 
Some  of  the  work,  notably  a  few  of  the  capi- 
tals, Is  evidently  re-used  from  the  earlier  struc- 
ture,  and  Is   exquisite   In   form   and   detail.     Much 

66 


Alcazar,  Seville. 

Patio  de  las  Munecas. 
(Court  of  the  Dolls.) 


SEVILLE 

of  the  effort  was  of  great  magnificence,  but 
coarsened  Imitation  of  Alhambralc  designs  abound, 
and,  In  general,  the  result  lacks  the  delicacy  and 
refinement    of   the    Granadlne    palace. 

Thus  rebuilt,  the  Alcazar  became  the  home  of 
one  of  the  most  enigmatic  characters  In  Spanish 
history.  Pedro  himself,  with  his  wild  furies, 
cruel  persecutions,  and  strange  freaks  of  mild- 
ness and  justice,  Is  sufficiently  perplexing,  but  In 
the  background  Is  always  the  pale  Inscrutable  face 
of  Maria  de  Padllla.  Did  she  more  love  or  fear 
the  tyrant  who,  among  his  equals,  softened  only 
to  her?  Was  she  jealous  when  her  royal  lover 
married  and  deserted  within  a  day  the  Portu- 
guese beauty  Juana  de  Castro?  or  when  In  a  cold 
fury  of  passion  he  burned  the  Invincible  Urraca 
Osorlo  In  the  streets  of  Seville?  The  real  queen, 
pretty  Blanche  of  Bourbon,  played  no  part  of 
Importance  either  in  the  life  of  Pedro  or  his 
favourite.  Endowed  by  history  with  something 
of  the  mysterious  charm  of  the  Mona  Lisa, 
Maria  de  Padllla  attracts  and  repels  by  turns. 
Were  Pedro's  periods  of  gentleness  the  result  of 
her  influence?  and  how  did  she,  alone,  maintain 
a  permanent  place  in  his  life?  Few  among  Span- 
ish women  would  better  repay  study,  and,  as  must 
necessarily  follow  with  one  who  shared  the  life 
of  Pedro,  the  history  of  Maria  de  Padllla  is 
crowded   with  sinister  events   and  startling  scenes. 

67 


BUILDERS  OF   SPAIN 

Throiigh  her  lattice  the  proud  favourite  might 
have  watched  Pedro  playing  the  host  at  a  banquet 
given  in  honour  of  the  renegade  Granadlne 
usurper,  Abu  Said,  and  his  followers.  The  oc- 
casion was  expected  to  serve  the  King  and  his 
Moslem  guest  as  an  opportunity  to  concert  meas- 
ures for  their  mutual  benefit,  and  finally  to  re- 
place Abu  Said  upon  the  throne  of  Granada. 
But  Pedro,  glancing  from  under  lowered  brows 
at  the  resplendent  uniforms  and  magnificent 
jewels  of  his  visitors,  suddenly  summoned  the 
guard.  The  terror-stricken  Moslems  were  seized, 
searched,  and  plundered,  and  then  thrown  Into 
prison. 

Two  days  later  a  sorry  procession  passed 
through  the  streets  of  Seville,  headed  by 
the  prince  Abu  Said,  who,  in  mockery  of  his  pre- 
tensions, was  dressed  in  royal  robes  and  seated 
upon  an  ass.  In  a  plain  outside  the  city,  all 
were  fastened  to  stakes,  and  Pedro  himself,  with 
a  sword  thrust,  dispatched  the  chief  victim,  while 
his  courtiers  amused  themselves  with  the  suffer- 
ings of  the  others.  Literally  pecks  of  jewels, 
many  of  fabulous  value,  were  said  to  have  been 
secured  by  Pedro  through  this  act  of  perfidy.  One 
famous  ruby,  or  garnet,  known  as  the  Belax  of 
the  Red  King,  has  become  historic;  for  when 
Pedro  bought  the  assistance,  in  his  wars  against 
his    brother    Henry    of    Trastamara,    of    Edw^ard 

68 


SEVILLE 

of  England,  the  Black  Prince,  the  splendid  gem 
formed  part  payment  for  the  service,  and  to-day 
It  adorns  one  of  the  royal  crowns  in  London  Tower. 

One  day  Don  Fadrlque  came  riding  Into  the 
court  of  the  Alcazar.  It  was  a  foolhardy  pro- 
ceeding thus  to  place  himself  In  Pedro's  power, 
for  everyone  knew  that  the  King  had  grown  sus- 
picious of  his  half  brother.  The  young  Prince 
went  at  once  to  Pedro's  apartments,  where  he 
was  given  a  grudging  reception.  From  there 
a  visit  was  paid  to  Maria  de  Padllla.  There, 
It  Is  possible,  he  may  have  received  a  hint  of  his 
danger,  for  he  made  an  attempt  to  reach  the  en- 
trance, but  as  he  was  passing  through  the  corridor 
near  to  the  King's  apartment,  Pedro  called  through 
the  wicket  In  his  door  to  the  guard,  "  Kill  Don  Fad- 
rlque, kill  the  Master  of  Santiago !  "  Don  Fadrlque 
attempted  to  save  himself,  and  his  followers  hear- 
ing the  noise  of  the  struggle,  ran  to  his 
assistance.  All  were  soon  overpowered,  and  one 
last  victim  was  even  pursued  to  the  presence  of 
Maria  de  Padllla  by  Pedro  himself,  who  plucked 
him  from  behind  Dona  Beatrice,  Maria's  daugh- 
ter, and  handed  him  over  to  the  guard.  Then, 
returning  through  the  corridor  where  Don  Fad- 
rlque lay,  Pedro  discovered  that  he  still  breathed, 
and  the   King's  own  dagger  finished  the  business. 

Pedro  set  up  a  throne  of  justice  in  one  of  the 
pavilions  of  the   Alcazar,   where,    after  the   Mos- 

69 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

lem  fashion,  he  heard  the  complaints  of  his  peo- 
ple, and  often  meted  out  most  Impartial  justice. 
Indeed,  this  strange  compound  of  cruelty  and 
softness  made  himself  greatly  beloved  by  the 
common  people.  It  was  his  nobles  and  courtiers 
who  had  reason  to  fear  him;  and  If  there  be  any 
truth  In  the  absurd  story  that  the  latter  dally 
drank  the  water  from  the  bath  of  Maria  de 
Padllla,  It  was  done  to  curry  favour  with  the 
King  rather  than  with  the  favourite. 

Pedro  made  the  most  strenuous  efforts,  which 
were  finally  crowned  with  success,  to  have  the 
son  of  Maria  de  Padllla  declared  his  successor. 
The  decree  was  speedily  set  aside,  or  rather,  was 
disregarded  after  Pedro's  death.  But  through 
the  marriages  of  Maria's  two  daughters  with  two 
brothers  of  the  Black  Prince,  John  of  Gaunt  and 
Edmund,  Duke  of  York,  the  blood  of  the  Span- 
ish King  and  his  mistress  still  mingles  with  that 
of  the  kings   of   England. 

After  Pedro,  the  CastUIan  court  drifted  more 
Into  the  north,  and,  although  Juan  11.  added 
something  to  the  Alcazar,  Seville,  except  In  the 
estimation  of  SevUlIans,  steadily  lost  In  Importance. 
But  before  Juan's  work  was  begun  on  the  Alcazar, 
the  clergy  and  people  had  determined  upon  the 
erection  of  a  new  cathedral.  The  magnificent 
Gothic  cathedrals  of  Toledo  and  Burgos  had 
both   been    founded    In    the    thirteenth    century   by 

70 


SEVILLE 

St.  Ferdinand;  and  It  seems  most  remarkable  that 
he  attempted  nothing  of  the  kind  In  the  city  whose 
conquest  was  regarded  as  the  crowning  glory  of 
his  career,  and  of  sufficient  Importance  to  make  It 
his  capital.  But  for  over  two  hundred  years,  the 
old  mosque,  with  its  court  of  oranges,  Its  foun- 
tains, and  Its  tower,  was  made  to  serve.  Addi- 
tions, from  time  to  time,  together  with  deface- 
ment and  decay,  had  greatly  changed  Its  aspect, 
but  It  was  not  until  1401  that  its  condition 
seemed  to  demand  a  new  structure.  Then,  how- 
ever, a  glow  of  enthusiasm  for  the  work  prom- 
ised to  make  amends  for  the  long  delay.  It  was 
declared  to  be  the  desire  of  the  clergy  and  peo- 
ple of  Seville,  to  build  a  cathedral  so  large  and 
so  beautiful  that  they  should  be  deemed  mad  to 
have   attempted   it. 

The  first  stone  of  the  new  structure  was  laid 
in  1402,  and,  as  the  fabric  grew,  the  old  mosque 
was  pulled  down  to  make  way  for  it.  The  new 
building  was  to  be  Gothic,  but  the  lines  of  the 
old  foundations  were  followed.  This  not  only 
gave  the  new  fabric  an  enormous  size,  but  even 
greater  proportionate  width  than  that  of  the 
cathedral  at  Toledo.  At  present  there  Is  no  au- 
thoritative architectural  treatise  on  Seville  cathe- 
dral. Even  the  dimensions  do  not  appear  to  be 
anywhere  correctly  stated.  Street  omits  it  alto- 
gether   from    his    work   on    Spain,    Intimating   that 

71 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

he  did  not  consider  it  worth  a  journey  into  the 
south,  and,  although  Ferguson  calls  it  one  of  the 
grandest  mediaeval  cathedrals,  he  dismisses  it  with 
but    few   lines. 

To-day  the  church,  with  Its  offices,  stands  com- 
paratively free,  and  the  vast  pile  may  be  viewed 
from  all  points.  Yet,  save  as  a  mountainous 
mass  of  stone,  the  exterior  of  Seville  cathedral  is 
neither  interesting  nor  Impressive.  Its  effect  of 
great  height  is  counteracted  by  its  width,  as  well 
as  by  the  altitude  of  the  aisles,  which  so  nearly 
equals  that  of  the  nave  that  the  spread  of  the 
buttresses  for  the  support  of  the  latter  is  almost 
horizontal. 

The  general  form  of  the  structure  is  that  of 
a  huge  oblong  block.  The  square  east  end  is 
entirely  covered  by  an  enormous  Renaissance 
chapel,  and  the  Court  of  Oranges,  preserved 
from  the  old  mosque,  the  GIralda,  the  Sagrario, 
the  Chapter  House,  and  the  Sacrlsta  Mayor,  suc- 
cessfully hide  the  most  of  the  remaining  lower 
walls  of  the  church  proper.  The  fagade,  a  work 
of  the  nineteenth  century,  is  meagre  and  unim- 
pressive. 

But  once  the  observer  is  inside  the  church,  the 
impression  of  vastness  is  overwhelming.  It  is  all 
so  high,  and  each  detail  is  so  huge.  Whether 
this  effect  of  size  would  be  even  more  magnifi- 
cent If  the   great   Coro,   which  fills  the   centre  of 

72 


T^^ 


Fiezv  across  J  isles, 

Cathedral,   Seville. 


!S  over 


i:^^l 

m 

"^ffl 

i.^^^H 

m 

L 

Jilt  J 

■ 

m 

r 

iif 

1  |-^^| 

H:    jm 

1 

H  9 

1  I'^Wm 

1  ^^h;  ikHHl^^l 

■i 

'  tlii 

en          t|  1  i^^K 

Wi 

4 

k 

m 

HI 

■•^■- 

SEVILLE 

the  edifice,  were  knocked  out,  or  whether  that 
opening  up  of  the  nave  would  result  In  a  dis- 
tressing barrenness.  It  Is  difficult  to  say,  but  it  is 
possible  that  the  blocking  up  of  the  nave  is  a 
saving  grace  to   the   church   at  Seville,  at  least. 

The  double  aisles  of  Seville  cathedral  so  nearly 
equal  the  nave  In  width  and  height,  that  it  prac- 
tically has  five  naves.  The  enormous  piers  have 
the  slightest  of  capitals,  and,  owing  to  the  alti- 
tude of  the  aisles,  there  Is  necessarily  no  triforlum 
gallery.  There  Is,  therefore,  an  utter  lack  of 
that  variety  of  proportion  which  Is  the  greatest 
beauty  of  the  Gothic  style,  and  the  effect  of  the 
splendour  of  size  Is  measurably  lessened  through 
want  of  proper  comparison.  Gothic  harmony  of 
proportion  Is  best  attained  at  Amiens,  ^®  where 
the  length  and  height  of  the  nave  are  approxi- 
mately the  same  as  at  Seville,  but  where  the 
breadth  Is  about  half  that  of  the  Spanish  ex- 
ample. Moreover,  the  aisles  at  Amiens  are  only 
a  little  more  than  half  as  wide  and  high  as  the 
nave. 

Yet  with  all  its  barrenness  from  mere  size, 
Seville  cathedral  presents  marked  purity  of  con- 
structive lines,  and  most  of  the  detail  Is  simple 
and  dignified.  The  windows  are  comparatively 
small,    but    are    filled    with    good    tracery,    mostly 

^^  See  "  French  Cathedrals  and  Chateaux,"  by  the  author  of  this 
volume. 

73 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

flamboyant,  and  with  glass  of  striking  brilliance 
and  beauty.  Mouldings  and  vaulting  ribs  are 
simple  rolls  and  hollows,  except  In  the  bays  at 
the  crossing.  There,  not  only  are  the  mouldings 
ornamented  with  fine  cutting  of  leaf  forms,  but 
the  groins  are  filled  with  the  most  elaborate 
tracery.  Here  again,  is  the  over-elaboration  of 
the  Spanish  workman,  and,  while  much  of  the 
result  Is  rich.  Its  continuation  all  over  the  vast 
vault,  which  was  doubtless  the  Intention,  could 
only  have  resulted,  as  did  the  sham  tracery  at 
Milan,  In  belittling  the  noble  simplicity  to 
which  the  main  lines  of  the  cathedral  owe  a  large 
measure    of   their   dignity   and   beauty. 

After  her  accession,  upon  the  occasion  of  her 
first  visit  to  Seville,  Isabella  I.  received  a  most 
royal  and  magnificent  reception.  Fetes,  tourneys, 
tilts  with  reeds,  and  all  the  other  exercises  of 
Castlllan  chivalry  occupied  a  number  of  days. 
Then  the  energetic  Queen  set  about  that  reforma- 
tion of  abuses  which  had  been  the  chief  reason 
for  her  coming.  She  set  up  her  court  in  the 
large  salon  of  the  Alcazar,  probably  the  salon 
of  Maria  de  Padilla,  where  she  herself  presided 
over  the  administration  of  justice.  A  throne  was 
raised  on  a  platform,  covered  with  cloth  of  gold, 
and  every  Friday  the  Queen  was  found  there, 
surrounded   by   her   council   and   the   local   judges. 

74 


3        VJX 

•  V 

nnd    V: 

:-c 

le  mou 

'".->,    out 

>nrnfe 

Vaults  at  Crossing. 

Cathedral,   S»»vii;^ 

f  the  c 


the  occasic 
sabelia 


u  covered  witii  cloth  oi 

'      Oueen   was    f'  ■- ^ 

and  ^he 


SEVILLE 

So  vigorous  were  her  measures,  and  so  many 
were  the  offenders  brought  to  justice,  that  sus- 
pected persons  began  to  take  flight.  It  Is  esti- 
mated that  within  two  months  four  thousand 
escaped  Into  the  neighbouring  Moslem  provinces; 
and  the  people  of  Seville  finally  begged  her 
to  desist,  lest  she  depopulate  the  city.  Isabella 
finally  consented  to  forgive  all  delinquents  except 
heretics.  Then  she  completed  the  pacification  of 
Seville,  by  forcing  a  sort  of  armed  neutrality  be- 
tween the  belligerent  families  of  Guzman  and 
Ponce  de  Leon,  whose  feuds  had  long  been  a 
source  of  strife  In  Andalusia.  It  was  finally, 
secretly  and  at  night,  that  the  Marquis  of  Cadiz, 
of  the  house  of  Ponce  de  Leon,  made  his  way 
Into  Seville  and  to  the  apartment  of  the  Queen 
In  the  Alcazar,  where  he  tendered  her  his  sub- 
mission  and  his  promise   of  loyal  service. 

A  year  later.  In  1478,  Prince  Juan,  the  only 
son  and  heir  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  was  born 
at  Seville,  and  there  he  was  presented  for  bap- 
tism, a  ceremony  described  as  one  of  the  most 
splendid   ever   celebrated    In    Seville. 

Again,  in  1490,  the  great  Queen  and  her  fam- 
ily were  at  Seville  for  the  festivities  by  which 
was  celebrated  the  betrothal  of  the  Infanta  Isa- 
bella with  Alonzo,  the  heir  to  the  throne  of 
Portugal.  It  was  April,  and  Seville  in  April 
Is    lovely    beyond    description.      Don    Sllveira    ap- 

75 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

peared  as  the  proxy  of  the  Prince,  and  the  cere- 
mony of  the  betrothal  was  followed  by  splendid 
fetes  and  tourneys.  Lists  were  enclosed  on  the 
banks  of  the  Guadalquivir  some  distance  from 
the  city.  They  were  surrounded  by  galleries 
hung  with  silk  and  cloth  of  gold,  and  protected 
from  the  heat  of  the  sun  by  canopies  richly  em- 
broidered with  the  armorial  bearings  of  the 
grandees  of  Castile.  The  Infanta  Isabella  sat 
in  the  midst,  surrounded  by  all  the  rank  and 
beauty  of  the  court,  and  attended  by  seventy 
noble  ladies  and  a  hundred  pages  of  the  royal 
household.  The  cavaliers  of  Spain  thronged  to 
the  tournament,  and  King  Ferdinand  himself  en- 
tered the  lists,  where  he  broke  several  lances.  At 
the  close  of  the  tilts  there  was  music,  and  danc- 
ing in  which  the  ladies  took  part.  They  made 
a  fine  show  in  all  their  bravery,  and,  as  an  evi- 
dence of  extreme  gaiety,  we  are  told  that  the 
festivities    lasted    into   the    evening. 

As  early  as  1480,  Seville  had  been  made  one 
of  the  chief  centres  of  the  Inquisition,  and  it  is 
not  at  all  improbable  that  the  above  festivities 
were  completed  by  the  gruesome  spectacle  of  an 
auto  de  fe.  The  burning  of  heretics  was  for  hun- 
dreds of  years  an  important  part  of  most  courtly 
functions  in  Spain.  Like  grace  before  meat,  it 
served  as  the  religious  part  of  all  ceremonials  of 
importance,   and  nowhere  were  the  fires  of  perse- 

76 


SEVILLE 

cutlon  kindled  with  greater  zeal  than  In  Seville. 
During  the  first  ten  months  of  the  establishment 
of  the  tribunal,  nearly  three  hundred  persons 
were  burned;  moreover,  the  bones  of  many,  con- 
victed after  death,  were  torn  from  their  graves 
to  be  consumed.  It  was  soon  found  necessary 
to  erect  a  stone  platform  at  the  burning  place, 
outside  the  city  walls,  and  for  three  hundred 
years  thousands  of  victims  were  offered  up  an- 
nually  at   Its   stakes. 

On  Palm  Sunday,  1493,  Columbus  reached 
Seville  on  his  return  from  his  first  momentous 
voyage  into  the  distant  and  unknown  West. 
Crowds  thronged  the  streets,  to  catch  a  glimpse 
of  the  venturesome  explorer  and  hear  the  strange 
story  of  his  discoveries.  Ten  years  later  the 
monopoly  of  trade  with  the  new  world  had  been 
granted  to  Seville.  The  board  which  held  its 
control  was  assigned  offices  in  the  old  Alcazar, 
which  was  also  turned  into  a  depot  or  warehouse 
for  all  merchandise  in  transport.  With  these  ad- 
vantages the  wealth  of  the  city  multiplied  enor- 
mously, and  It  was  not  long  before  the  fever  of 
money-getting,  by  way  of  adventure  and  emigra- 
tion, threatened  to  depopulate  the  city,  at  least 
of  Its  male  inhabitants.  The  enormous  amount 
of  silver  brought  into  Spain  through  the  port  of 
Seville  during  the  years  succeeding  the  discovery 
of  America   Is  almost  beyond   belief.      As   its   ex- 

77 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

port  was  soon  forbidden,  the  metal  was  largely 
turned  Into  plate,  of  which  some  of  the  Spanish 
grandees  were  finally  burdened  with  thousands  of 
pieces.  But  the  possession  of  precious  metal  alone 
never  guaranteed  prosperity,  and,  even  with  her 
monopoly  of  the  richest  trade  In  the  world,  the 
fortunes  of  Seville,  together  with  those  of  the 
rest  of  Spain,  soon  began  to  decline. 

Charles  V.  occasionally  occupied  the  old  Al- 
cazar, and  celebrated  his  marriage  there.  He 
also  added  a  gallery  over  the  chief  patio;  and 
the  extensive  gardens,  as  now  seen,  were  laid  out 
under  his  direction.  Much  of  their  quaint  stiff- 
ness of  arrangement  Is  attractive,  but  here  again, 
In  the  arcaded  terrace  which  bounds  the  enclosure 
on  the  east,  is  an  overdone  rustic  ornamentation 
which  is  truly  Spanish.  Somewhat  better  are  the 
portions  of  the  really  fine  Plateresque  Ayunta- 
mlento,  or  City  Hall,  which  are  ascribed  to  the 
Emperor;  but  the  Chapel  Royal  In  the  same  style, 
which  he  added  to  the  cathedral,  Is  hopelessly 
vulgar. 

Philip  II.  waited  for  years  to  come  to  Seville, 
and,  although  when  he  finally  paid  It  a  visit.  In 
1570,  he  remained  only  two  weeks,  he  was  given 
a  royal  welcome.  We  are  told  that  the  city  also 
subscribed  one  hundred  thousand  ducats  toward 
the  expenses  of  Philip's  fourth  marriage — all  this 
for  a   King  whose  bigotry  dealt  the  last  blow  to 

78 


SEVILLE 

the  prosperity  of  Seville!  In  the  craze  for  Im- 
ported gold,  Industries  were  neglected,  and  even 
the  silting  up  of  the  bed  of  the  great  river  was 
unheeded  until  Seville's  value  as  a  port  was  prac- 
tically ruined.  But  It  was  the  expulsion  of  the 
Morlscoes  from  Andalusia,  largely  accom- 
plished during  the  reign  of  Philip  II.,  which  com- 
pleted  the   financial   ruin   of   Seville. 

It  Is  quite  In  harmony  with  the  lightness  and 
gaiety  of  the  Sevilllan  temper  that  In  this  hour 
of  her  deepest  gloom  and  disaster  she  gave  bIrtK 
to  the  Spanish  drama.  Lope  de  Rueda  Is  still 
called  the  Father  of  the  Spanish  Theatre,  and 
from  1560  to  1590,  his  plays  were  acted  In  the 
streets  of  Seville.  It  was  during  those  years  that 
Cervantes  occupied  the  office  of  tax  collector  In 
Seville,  where  he  doubtless  witnessed  many  of 
these  rude  performances.  They  were  rendered 
upon  a  half  dozen  boards  elevated  upon  benches, 
and  with  blankets  for  drop  curtain  and  back- 
ground. 

Beginning  with  Rueda  and  Cervantes,  Se- 
ville entered  upon  a  notable  era  of  literary  ac- 
tivity, one  of  whose  chief  centres  was  the  Casa 
Pllatos,  the  sixteenth-century  residence  of  the 
Dukes  of  Alcala.  Various  reasons  are  given  for 
the  name  of  this  palace,  the  most  common  one 
being  Its  reproduction  of  the  plan  of  the  residence 
of  Pilate  at  Jerusalem.     It  presents  a  mixture   of 

79 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

the  Saracenic,  Gothic,  and  Renaissance  styles,  but 
to-day  It  Is  chiefly  famous  for  the  unrivalled 
beauty  and  quantity  of  Its  glazed  tiles.  Some  of 
the  Moresque  Iron  work  Is,  also,  of  extreme  ele- 
gance of  design  and  finish.  Both  here  and  at 
the  residence  of  one  Pacheco,  a  Canon  of  the 
cathedral,  were  frequently  assembled  the  growing 
numbers  of  those  literary  and  artistic  lights  whose 
names  now  ring  the  most  proudly  In  the  annals 
of  Seville.  Chief  among  them  was  the  great 
Velasquez,  who  married  Pacheco's  daughter;  and 
only  second  to  this  most  Spanish  of  all  the  gifted 
sons  of  Spain,  was  Murlllo,  whose  works  give 
fuller  expression  to  the  softer,  the  more  devo- 
tional side  of  the  Spanish  character. 

As  early  as  1395,  six  years  before  the  new 
cathedral  was  determined  upon,  the  minaret 
crowning  the  old  mosque  tower  had  been  thrown 
down  by  an  earthquake,  and  It  Is  but  another 
evidence  of  the  weakened  temper  of  the  times 
that  no  determined  effort  was  made  to  replace  It 
for  nearly  two  hundred  years.  The  tower  itself, 
except  for  the  gradual  loss  of  Its  early  colour, 
appears  to  have  been  quite  unharmed,  and,  in 
1568,  It  was  decided  to  carry  It  one  hundred 
feet  higher  and  crown  the  structure  with  a  new 
pinnacle.  The  result  is  the  Renaissance  gallery 
and   minaret   that   we   see   to-day. 

While    the    general    style    and    Plateresque    de- 

80 


SEVILLE 

tails  of  both  gallery  and  minaret  are  entirely  out 
of  harmony  with  the  Saracenic  work  below,  the 
harmonious  proportions  of  the  entire  structure, 
together  with  Its  exquisite  detail,  render  it  to- 
day one  of  the  most  beautiful  towers  In  Europe. 
Within  recent  years  its  form  has  been  followed 
in  the  tower  of  the  Madison  Square  Garden  in 
New  York,  but  there  no  attempt  has  been  made 
to  reproduce  any  of  the  Saracenic  detail.  The 
lower  walls  are  left  plain,  and  ornamentation  is 
practically  confined  to  the  gallery,  which  follows 
very  closely  the  Sevllllan  model.  By  so  doing, 
in  Its  entirety,  the  New  York  tower  is  left  a 
purely  Renaissance  structure,  which  was  probably 
the  builder's  Intention.  Uniformity  of  style  is 
an  admirable  aim  In  Itself,  and  the  tower  at 
Madison  Square  Is  a  beautiful  structure,  but  to 
those  who  have  seen  the  other,  it  must  always 
appear  bare   and  cold. 

As  the  New  York  tower  is  topped  by  Saint 
Gaudens*  lovely  Diana,  so  now  the  Giralda  is 
crowned  by  a  bronze  figure  of  Faith.  This 
gigantic  figure,  weighing  two  hundred  thousand 
eight  hundred  pounds.  Is  poised  as  a  weather 
vane  which  turns  with  the  slightest  breeze;  hence, 
the  name  given  to  the  tower,  Giralda,  from 
Girar,  to  revolve.  The  elevation  of  the  enor- 
mous figure  to  Its  position  on  the  bronze  globe 
upon    which    it    stands,    more    than    parallels    the 

8i 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

feat    of    the    earlier    placing    of    the    bronze    bar 
with   Its   four   globes. 

In  1504,  after  a  phenomenal  thunder  storm 
'■which  seemed  to  threaten  the  GIralda,  It  was 
placed  under  the  especial  care  of  Sts.  Justa  and 
Rufina.  It  would  seem,  then,  that  the  twenty-five 
bells,  which  were  hung  In  Its  gallery  after  the 
rebuilding,  might  have  been  dispensed  with.  The 
primary  service  of  bells  In  Christian  countries 
was  to  scare  away  the  devil,  a  work  now  sup- 
posed to  be  adequately  performed  for  the  GIralda 
by  her  saints.  But  even  with  this  possible  din 
of  brazen  metal,  Sts.  Justa  and  Rufina  have 
never  been  permitted  to  relax  their  vigilance. 
Even  to-day,  they  alone,  among  Sevllllan  saints, 
are  not  represented  In  the  procession  of  Holy 
Week,  lest  In  so  doing  their  attention  may  be  dis- 
tracted from  the  care  of  the  splendid  tower,  still 
the  most  glorious  monument  of  Seville. 

During  the  years  since  Its  foundation,  the  vast 
cathedral  has  demanded  constant  eflfort.  Number- 
less chapels  have  been  erected,  and  extensive  re- 
pairs have  frequently  been  necessitated  by  earth- 
quakes; all  this  besides  the  endless  labours  upon 
the  fabric  Itself,  which  even  yet  remains  Incom- 
plete. Much  of  the  result  Is  grandiose  and  bar- 
ren, or  coarse  and  overdone,  but  save  for  the 
GIralda  and  the  old  mosque  wall,  which  still  sur- 
rounds the  Court  of  Oranges,  Seville  cathedral 
Is  pre-eminently   Christian   In  style. 

82 


SEVILLE 

The  same  may  hardly  be  said  of  any  other  of 
the  churches  of  Seville,  in  whose  construction 
Saracenic  details,  arches,  and  even  towers,  are 
constantly  found.  Much  of  the  result  is  unde- 
niably picturesque,  but  the  general  aspect  of  most 
Sevillian  monuments  to-day  is  bizarre  and  flimsy. 
An  artist  may  delight  in  their  tinted  stucco  walls, 
built  at  all  angles,  in  which  are  set  occasional 
bits  of  coloured  tiles;  or  even  in  the  brick  or 
stone  of  more  pretentious  efforts,  with  their  inter- 
mingling of  Gothic,  Renaissance,  and  Saracenic 
details;  but  an  architect  with  a  sense  of  organ- 
ism or  propriety,  may  find  little  pleasure  or  profit 
in  Seville.  Save  only  the  Giralda,  the  city  of 
her  Saracenic  builders  has  vanished,  and  in  its 
stead  Is  the  pretentious,  often  incongruous, 
Seville,  by  which  the  Christian  Spaniards  have 
sought  to  replace  it.  But  true  to  her  ancient 
character,  the  aspect  of  the  city  still  is  light  and 
gay;  and,  given  the  blue  of  her  sky,  and  the 
luxuriance  of  her  soil,  with  the  brightness  of  the 
Sevillian  spirit,  this  chief  city  of  Andalusia  must 
always  possess  a  beauty  and  a  charm  strikingly 
Individual,  and  inferior  to  few  of  the  medlseval 
cities  of   Europe. 


83 


Chapter  XV 
GRANADA 

IN  the  last  days  of  Ramadan,  in  the  year 
1238,  the  newly  elected  King,  Mahomet- 
al-Hamar,  arrived  under  the  walls  of 
Granada.  It  was  evening,  and  the  royal  caval- 
cade encamped  in  the  vega,  deferring  their  entry 
until  the  following  morning.  Then  Al-Hamar, 
dressed  in  a  tunic  of  the  striped  stuff  called 
mllaf,  the  sleeves  of  which  were  opened  at  the 
sides,  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  his  escort, 
and,  amid  the  acclamations  of  the  people,  entered 
into  the  city.  Toward  sunset  he  rode  up  to- 
ward the  castle,  and  when  he  reached  the  gate 
of  the  castle  the  voice  of  the  muezzin  was  heard 
in  the  distance  calling  the  people  to  the  prayer 
of  the  setting  sun;  upon  which,  without  going 
any  further,  Al-Hamar  went  into  the  mirab  of 
the  mosque  and  recited  the  first  chapter  of  the 
Koran.  Then  he  went  into  the  castle  of  Badis, 
preceded  by  men   bearing  wax  tapers. 

The  city  thus  taken  possession  of  "by  Al- 
Hamar  first  comes  Into  notice  soon  after  the 
Moslem  conquest,  with  Its  cession,  by  the  Arabs, 
to    the    Jews,    who    were    exiled    to    It    from    the 

84 


The  Jlhambra  and  Granada. 

From  the  Albayzin. 


lie,   an« 


GRANADA 

neighbouring  city  of  Elvira.  In  the  earliest  times, 
the  hill  now  given  up  to  the  Alhambra  was  oc- 
cupied by  an  Iberian  settlement  called  Karnattah. 
With  the  coming  of  a  numerous  Hebrew  popu- 
lation, the  name  became  Karnattah  Al-yahoud,  or 
Granada  of  the  Jews,  by  which  it  appears  that 
Karnattah,  like  Granada,  means  Pomegranate. 
After  the  advent  of  the  Jews,  Granada  grew 
rapidly  in  power;  but,  until  the  eleventh  century, 
it  continued  to  be  dominated  by  Elvira,  where 
the  Arab  emirs  maintained  their  seat  of  power. 
With  the  fall  of  the  kingdom  of  Cordova,  the 
emirs  of  Elvira,  like  those  of  most  of  the  Mos- 
lem provinces  of  Spain,  set  up  an  Independent 
sovereignty,  founding  the  dynasty  of  the  Zirites. 
As  the  prosperity  of  Granada  increased,  that  of 
Elvira  diminished,  and  the  second  sovereign  of 
the  house  of  Zirites,  Habus,  removed  his  court  to 
the  more  thriving  city,  although  for  many  years 
longer  the  kingdom  was  to  be  known  as  the 
kingdom   of   Elvira. 

The  accession  of  dignity  thus  conferred  upon 
Granada  marks  the  beginning  of  a  troublous 
epoch,  but  an  epoch  during  which  the  city  was 
to  gain  constantly  In  population  and  beauty,  and 
finally  to  spread  down  Into  the  vega.  Already, 
before  the  removal  of  the  court  from  Elvira, 
the  first  of  the  ZIrite  kings  had  considerably 
strengthened    Granada.      But    it   was    Habus    who 

85 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

began  Its  rebuilding.  According  to  some  author- 
Itles,  Elvira  was  ruined  at  this  time  for  the  pur- 
pose of  furnishing  materials  for  the  construction 
of  the  Important  works  now  begun  in  the  new 
capital. 

The  chief  work  began  by  Habus  was  the 
building,  or  more  probably  the  rebuilding,  of  a 
citadel  upon  the  spur  of  the  Alhambra  plateau 
which  commands  the  vega.  This  Kassabah  (the 
modern  Alcazaba)  was  completed  by  Badls,  the 
successor  of  Habus;  and  Badls  erected  many 
other  great  works.  The  hill  of  the  Alhambra  Is, 
In  a  measure,  separated  from  the  mountain  back 
of  It  by  a  ravine  or  gorge,  and  the  top  of  its 
elongated  plateau,  which  was  the  location  of  the 
primitive  Iberic  settlement,  and  still,  under  the 
first  of  the  Zirlte  kings,  was  the  heart  of  Gra- 
nada, was  entirely  surrounded  by  Badls  with  a 
stout  wall.  We  are  also  told  that  Badls  erected 
another  Kassabah  extending  down  to  the  Darro, 
which  Indicates  thus  early  the  growth  of  the  city 
around  the  foot  of  the  mountain.  Accounts  of 
mosques,  markets,  baths,  and  other  public  works 
give  evidence  of  the  thrift  of  Its  citizens,  among 
whom  the  Hebrews  continued  to  maintain,  not 
only  a  numerical  importance,  but  at  times  a 
mental  ascendency  as  well. 

But,  although  Granada  was  subject  to  frequent 
outbreaks    of   intestine   strife,    and   pretty   constant 

86 


GRANADA 

border  warfare,  occasioned  by  the  jealousy  or 
Intrigues  of  neighbouring  principalities,  she  was 
left  practically  defenceless  against  a  powerful  In- 
vasion such  as  that  under  the  Almoravidan 
leader,  TashfIn,  who  crossed  the  mountains  and 
advanced  upon  the  city  In  1090.  Capitulation  was 
at  once  recognized  as  the  only  course  possible, 
and  Abdallah,  the  son  of  Badls,  hoping  thereby 
to  secure  better  terms,  threw  himself  upon  the  gen- 
erosity of  Tashfin.  He  rode  out  into  the  vega, 
as  though  to  receive  a  guest,  but  the  splen- 
dour of  the  cavalcade  by  which  he  sought  to 
honour  Tashfin,  the  silks,  jewels,  embroideries, 
and  burnished  armour,  only  aroused  the  cupidity 
of  the  rude  Berber  soldiery.  Abdallah  was  placed 
In  chains,  his  escort  despoiled,  and  Tashfin  made 
a  triumphal  entry  Into  the  town. 

The  Almoravidan  period,  during  which  the 
treasonable  intrigues  of  the  Christian  and  Moza- 
rabe  population  were  followed  by  the  persecu- 
tion and  deportation  of  those  peoples,  left 
Granada  with  the  smallest  proportionate  native 
population  In  Spain.  The  places  of  the  exiles 
were  rapidly  filled  by  African  or  Berber  colon- 
ists, and  from  this  time  the  Berber  influence  was 
strong  in  Granada.  Within  a  few  years,  a  sec- 
ond host  of  African  barbarians,  under  Almohade 
leaders,  appeared  in  the  fertile  vega.  As  be- 
fore,   Granada    was    chiefly    valued    for    Its    rich 

87 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

booty;  and,  until  the  establishment  of  an  inde- 
pendent sovereignty  under  Mahomet-al-Hamar, 
disorders  and  frequent  revolutions  mark  the  his- 
tory   of    the    town. 

Yet  its  thrifty  Jewish  population,  together  with 
the  almost  inexhaustible  resources  of  the  tribu- 
tary region,  rendered  Granada  continually  pros- 
perous. One  of  the  chiefs  of  the  Almoravides 
thus  apostrophizes  her:  "Spain  is  like  a  shield, 
the  armhole  of  which  is  Granada;  let  us  but  hold 
the  straps  tight,  and  the  shield  will  never  drop 
from  our  arm."  Many  new  buildings  and  addi- 
tional fortifications  had  embellished  and  strength- 
ened the  city  under  the  Almohade  princes;  and 
now  (In  1238),  as  the  capital  of  the  new  king- 
dom founded  by  Mahomet-al-Hamar,  Granada 
was  recognized  as  the  third  city  in  Moslem 
Spain,  inferior  only  to  Cordova  and  Seville.  Still 
dominated  by  the  old  Kassabah,  the  town  not 
only  had  spread  out  at  its  base  like  a  fan,  but 
had  crossed  the  Darro  and  climbed  the  lower  slope 
of  the  hill  which  rises  upon  the  opposite  side 
of  its  narrow  gorge.  The  chief  gate,  the  Puerta 
Elvira,  stood  not  far  from  the  Alcazar  of 
Badls.  But  another  splendid  palace  had  been 
erected  over  on  the  banks  of  the  Xenll.^    This  palace, 

1  A  mountain  torrent  which  rushes  down  the  other  slope  of  the 
mountain  spur,  drained  on  one  side  by  the  Darro,  and  crowned  by 
the  Alhambra. 

88 


GRANADA 

called  the  Kasru-s-sid  (the  palace  of  the  Lord), 
had  been  the  work  of  one  of  the  Almohade 
princes,  and  added  another  to  the  royal  abodes 
from  which  Al-Hamar  might  have  chosen  his 
residence.  But  we  read  that  the  new  King  un- 
hesitatingly directed  his  steps  to  the  Kassabah, 
and  that  the  throne  of  the  new  kingdom  was 
at  once  set  In  the   castle  of   Badis. 

There  are  authorities  which  tell  of  a  sumptu- 
ous palace  back  of  the  Kassabah,  on  the  site  of 
the  present  palace  of  the  Alhambra,  already  built 
before  the  coming  of  Al-Hamar.  Its  walls  are 
described  as  hung  with  tapestry  and  the  finest 
silk,  and  blazing  with  jewels.  Within  Its  vaults 
are  said  to  have  been  heaps  of  precious  stones, 
piles  of  gold  and  silver  plate,  weapons  of  mar- 
vellous workmanship,  vessels  of  porcelain  and 
rock  crystal,  and  quantities  of  chains,  bracelets, 
necklaces,  and  amulets.  But  as  to  the  truth  of 
these  marvellous  tales,  we  may  only  say  with  the 
pious    Arab    chroniclers,    **  God    only    knows." 

By  most  historians,  Mahomet-al-Hamar  is 
credited  with  laying  the  foundations  of  the  first 
palace  on  the  site  of  the  present  Alhambra.  It 
Is  thought  to  have  been  begun  during  the  early 
years  of  his  reign,  and  that  enough  of  It  was 
completed  before  his  death  for  him  to  reside  In 
it.  The  name  Alhambra  Is  sometimes  thought 
to   have   been   derived    from   that   of   the   builder. 

89 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

Al-ahmer,  or  Al-Hamar,  means  red  man,  and 
Mahomet-al-Hamar  is  thought  to  have  been  of 
a  ruddy  type:  furthermore,  Kal'at  Al-hamra  in- 
dicates red  castle.  But,  as  early  as  the  ninth 
century,  the  fortifications  of  the  hill  are  mentioned 
by  an  Arab  writer  as  Torres  Bermejas  (red 
towers),  and  it  seems  probable  that  both  that 
name  and  Kal'at  Al-hamra  were  derived  from 
the  red  soil  of  the  mountain,  and  from  the  ruddy 
stone  used  in  the  walls  erected  upon  it. 

During  the  reign  of  Mahomet-al-Hamar,  gen- 
erally known  as  Mahomet  I.,  the  rapid  growth 
of  the  city  of  Granada  so  largely  increased  its 
extent  that  entire  suburbs  were  added  to  It.  The 
most  notable  was  that  on  the  hill  which  rises 
opposite  the  Alhambra,  across  the  narrow  ravine 
of  the  Darro,  whose  Inhabitants  were  refugees 
from  Baeza;  hence  its   name  Albayzin. 

New  fortifications  for  the  augmented  city  early 
became  necessary,  and  Mahomet  erected  a  new 
citadel  within  the  town,  connecting  It  with  his 
palace  by  means  of  a  stout  wall  flanked  at  in- 
tervals by  strong  square  towers.  Hospitals,  col- 
leges, aqueducts,  mosques,  baths,  bazaars,  and 
markets  sprang  up  as  if  by  magic.  Many  books 
and  works  of  art,  saved  from  the  wreck  of  Cor- 
dova, found  their  way  to  Granada,  and  almost 
at  once    the  latter  city  succeeded  to  the  position 

90 


Exterior  Viezv  of  Walls  and  Toivers, 
Alhambra. 


GRANADA 

earlier  occupied  by  the  Omeyad  capital,  becoming 
the  centre  of  Saracenic  civilization  In  Spain. 

After  the  fashion  of  oriental  sovereigns,  Ma- 
homet I.  early  set  up  his  seat  of  justice  In  a 
gate  of  his  palace,  which  even  to-day  Is  known 
as  the  Puerta  de  Justiciar  and  the  paternal  care 
displayed  In  the  welfare  of  his  subjects  was  only 
equalled  by  the  diplomatic  skill  with  which  the 
King  maintained  his  always  difficult  relations  with 
the    Christian    kings   of    Castile. 

Within  six  years  of  the  foundation  of  his  king- 
dom, Mahomet-al-Hamar  found  It  necessary  to 
enter  Into  an  alliance  with  Ferdinand  III.  (St. 
Ferdinand),  which  placed  the  Moslem  King  In 
practical  vassalage  to  the  Christian  sovereign.  By 
this  treaty  Mahomet  agreed  to  attend  the  Chris- 
tian cortes,  pay  an  annual  tribute,  and  render 
military  service  In  time  of  war.  As  Christian 
warfare  was  almost  entirely  directed  against  Mos- 
lem foes,  the  latter  condition  was  not  only  re- 
garded as  exceedingly  humiliating,  but  became  in- 
creasingly difficult  of  fulfillment.  A  few  years 
later  when  five  hundred  horsemen  were  de- 
manded by  Ferdinand  to  assist  In  the  conquest  of 
Seville,  Mahomet  responded  loyally^  but  his  fol- 
lowers fretted  at  being  forced  to  fight  with  their 
natural  foes  against  their  Moslem  brethren;  and  It 
was  easy  to   see  that  Seville   subdued,   meant  but 

91 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

another  step  In  the  Christian  advance  which  must 
end  In  the  extinction  of  their  own  kingdom. 

Many  of  the  later  kings  of  Granada  refused 
to  pay  this  tribute;  and  not  a  few  of  the  Chris- 
tian kings  were  unable  to  enforce  it.  But  other 
anomalous  situations  were  produced  by  the  fre- 
quent alliance  of  disaffected  factions  In  either  king- 
dom with  the  ruler  of  the  other;  as,  for  Instance, 
when  the  mutinous  son  of  a  CastUIan  king  took 
the  field  with  the  King  of  Granada  against  his 
outraged  father,  while  the  latter,  the  Christian 
King,  found  himself  obliged  to  ally  himself  with 
an  African  army,  originally  Invited  Into  Spain  to 
join  the  Granadlne  army  against  him.  A  later 
curious  mIx-up  occurred  when  the  traitorous 
brothers  of  Alfonso  X.  appealed  to  the  Grana- 
dlne King  for  aid.  Mahomet  managed  to  secure 
an  asylum  for  one  in  Africa,  and  receive  the 
other  at  his  own  court;  while  at  the  same  time 
he  succeeded,  In  the  treaty  then  arranged  with 
Alfonso,  In  securing  favourable  terms  for 
Granada. 

The  Castillan  prince,  Don  Fllipe,  was  still  a 
guest  at  the  court  of  Granada  when  Mahomet  L 
came  to  his  death  by  a  fall  from  his  horse,  and 
the  exile  had  already  formed  a  warm  friend- 
ship with  the  young  prince  who  succeeded  as 
Mahomet  II.  This  King  was  gifted  with 
scholarly   tastes,    and   abilities   of   no   mean   order. 

92 


GRANADA 

He  was  a  famous  linguist,  and  a  polished  cour- 
tier. Through  the  affection  he  bore  Don  Fillpe, 
he  was  easily  persuaded  to  accompany  him  to 
Seville,  where  the  Moslem  King  was  expected  to 
use  his  friendly  efforts  to  patch  up  a  reconcilia- 
tion between  his  friend  and  the  brother  from 
whom  he  had  been  estranged.  Mahomet  suc- 
ceeded in  his  task,  and  achieved  a  high  reputa- 
tion at  Seville  as  a  refined  and  courtly  cavalier, 
but  he  returned  to  Granada  saddened  by  the  loss 
of  material  advantages  In  the  position  of  his  king- 
dom. The  trick  by  which  he  was  undone  is 
said  to  be  quite  characteristic  of  the  more  un- 
scrupulous methods  of  the  Christians  and  the 
unsuspicious  courtesy  of  the  Moslem  kings  of 
this  period.  But,  we  are  told,  that  In  his  later 
dealings  with  foreign  princes,  Mahomet  learned 
to   employ   more   of  craft   and   subtlety. 

During-  the  reign  of  Mahomet  II.  and  that 
of  his  son,  Mahomet  III.,  the  kingdom  of  Gra- 
nada was  firmly  established,  and  the  city  Itself 
vastly  improved.  With  the  enormous  booty 
which  frequently  fell  to  the  arms  of  Granada, 
Important  public  works  were  undertaken,  and  the 
palace  of  the  Alhambra  was  enlarged  and  beau- 
tified. But  of  greater  importance,  for  the  mo- 
ment, was  the  erection  of  the  great  mosque,  and 
the  chief  public  bath  of  the  city.  By  a  decree 
whose   Irony    Is   best   appreciated   to-day,    the   bath 

93 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

was  supported  by  a  tax  largely  levied  upon  the 
Christians,  whose  repugnance  to  the  custom  of 
bathing  was  only  equalled  by  their  ardour  for 
the  purely   symbolic   rite   of  baptism. 

The  great  mosque  was  established  upon  the 
site  now  occupied  by  the  Sagrarlo  of  the  Cathe- 
dral. Although  preserved  until  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, information  with  regard  to  this  mosque  is 
meagre  and  confusing.  One  writer  describes  It  as 
a  structure  of  eleven  aisles,  strongly  resembling 
the  great  mosque  at  Cordova,  embellished  with 
magnificent  columns  of  marble  and  jasper,  and 
with  an  ornamentation  of  fretted  silver  and  bril- 
liant mosaics.  Another  (Contreras)  writes,  "  It 
was  square  beneath  the  roof,  and  divided  Into 
four  naves  by  four  orders  of  columns  of  jasper. 
From  the  capitals  of  each  two  columns  sprang 
four  arches.  The  celling  was  in  the  form  of 
media  naranja  (half  orange)  cupolas,  elegantly 
worked.'' 

This  account,  which  closes  with  a  few  re- 
marks relative  to  the  portals,  and  certain  his- 
torical events,  doubtless  describes  the  mosque  in 
its  latter  days  when,  like  the  mosque  of  Cordova, 
the  conquering  Christians  had  laid  '*  improving  " 
hands  upon  it.  There  seems  to  be  no  doubt, 
however,  of  its  jasper  columns  and  elaborate  orna- 
mentation, and  it  is  quite  possible  that  the  four 
arches    springing    from    each    pair    of   capitals,    In- 

94 


GRANADA 

dicates,  as  at  Cordova,  the  introduction  of  two 
sets   of  superimposed   arches. 

The  close  of  the  reign  of  Mahomet  III.  Is 
marked  by  the  intestine  disorders  and  court 
intrigues  which  render  the  remainder  of  the  his- 
tory of  Granada  a  long-drawn-out  series  of  melo- 
dramas. Historians  find  Mahomet  III.  either  too 
good  or  too  wicked  to  retain  the  loyalty  of  his 
subjects;  and  the  chief  vizier  of  the  King  was 
even  more  obnoxious.  Probably  the  unpopular- 
ity of  both  was  largely  due  to  the  Intrigues  of 
Al-Nazer,  the  uncle  of  the  King,  who  wished  to 
usurp  the  throne.  One  day  a  mob  surged  through 
the  streets  of  Granada,  and,  after  sacking  the 
palace  of  an  odious  vizier,  that  official  was 
tracked  to  the  Alhambra,  where,  in  the  very 
presence  of  the  King,  he  was  literally  hacked  to 
pieces.  Mahomet  was  then  ordered  to  resign  his 
throne.  As  death  was  the  alternative,  he  at  once 
abdicated  and  retired  to  the  fortress  of  Almun- 
ecar. 

Al-Nazer,  who  then  usurped  the  throne,  was 
possessed  of  a  noble  presence  and  brilliant  pow- 
ers. He  is  credited  with  administrative  ability 
of  the  first  order,  and  was  a  munificent  patron 
of  literature  and  the  fine  arts.  Gifted  with  a 
genius  for  mechanics,  he  himself  produced  a  most 
marvellous  clock,  which  surprised  and  delighted 
all   who   saw   it.      But  a  throne   secured   by   force 

95 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

IS  an  uneasy  one,  and  Al-Nazer  soon  found 
himself  menaced  by  an  Intrigue  similar  to  the 
one  by  which  he  himself  had  profited;  his  nephew, 
Ismall-al-Ferag,  secretly  conspiring  against  him. 
Fortunately  for  the  King,  the  treason  was  dis- 
covered and  Al-Ferag  caught  and  sent  into  exile. 
But  about  that  time  Al-Nazer  fell  ill,  and  a 
report  that  he  was  dying  or  dead  was  conveyed 
to  Mahomet,  who,  after  five  years  of  imprison- 
ment, was  quite  ready,  were  It  ever  so  desperate, 
to  head  a  rising  in  his  own  favour.  Escorted 
by  a  few  faithful  friends,  to  whose  ranks  were 
rallied  constantly  Increasing  numbers  as  he  ap- 
proached his  capital,  Mahomet  entered  the  gate 
of  Granada.  Everywhere  he  saw  signs  of  re- 
joicing; flowers  and  green  branches  strewed  the 
streets,  and  silks  and  tapestries  were  hung  from 
doors  and  windows.  Were  his  people  indeed  so 
happy  over  his  return?  But  before  many  blocks 
were  traversed.  It  transpired  that  Al-Nazer  had 
recovered,  and  that  these  festal  decorations  were 
in  his  honour.  Nothing  remained  for  Mahomet 
but  to  profess  the  most  profound  happiness  In  the 
miraculous  restoration  of  Al-Nazer,  about  whose 
health  he  had  come  all  the  way  from  Almunecar 
to  inquire.  Al-Nazer  expressed  the  proper  amount 
of  gratitude  for  his  predecessor's  solicitude,  but 
he  took  care  that  Mahomet  was  returned  in  se- 
curity  to   his   prison   at   Almunecar,    and   that   his 

96 


GRANADA 

captivity  was  shared  by  all  those  who  had  par- 
ticipated in  the  recent  anxiety  as  to  the  state  of 
the    royal    health. 

But  while  dealing  with  these  internal  disorders, 
the  success  of  a  Castilian  army  In  the  siege  of  a 
few  border  cities  considerably  lessened  Al-Nazer's 
popularity  and  prestige,  and  a  second  Intrigue,  fo- 
mented by  Ismall-al-Ferag,  ended  in  an  advance 
of  the  latter  upon  the  capital,  at  the  head  of 
a  formidable  army.  Then  Al-Nazer,  In  his  ex- 
tremity, appealed  for  aid  to  the  regents  of  Cas- 
tile, the  Infantes  Don  Pedro  and  Don  Juan. 
With  the  readiness  of  the  times  to  fight  any- 
where and  for  any  cause,  the  latter  joyfully  re- 
sponded, and  soon  appeared  in  the  vega  of 
Granada  at  the  head  of  an  army  In  whose  ranks 
were  found  the  very  flower  of  Christian  chivalry. 
On  the  slope  of  the  Sierra  Elvira  they  encoun- 
tered the  forces  of  Al-Ferag,  and  there  the  Cas- 
tilian army  was  literally  cut  to  pieces.  No  less 
than  twenty-five  princes  of  the  blood,  among  them 
the  regents,  Don  Pedro  and  Don  Juan,  lost  their 
lives  In  this  action,  and  the  booty  taken  by  Is- 
mail was  enormous.  The  bodies  of  the  two  In- 
fantes, found  under  the  debris  of  the  battle,  were 
made  Into  gruesome  effigies  by  stuffing  the  skins 
with  cotton.  Then  they  were  hung  up  over  the 
chief  gate  of  Granada,  where  they  remained  for 
many    years. 

97 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

Before  entering  the  capital,  Ismail  found  it 
wise  to  augment  his  reputation  by  the  subjugation 
of  a  few  frontier  towns.  Both  Baeza  and  Mar- 
tos  were  quickly  reduced,  their  defences  being  ren- 
dered valueless  by  gunpowder,  possibly  its  first 
use  in  the  peninsula.  Then  the  victorious  army 
retraced  its  steps  to  Granada,  where  Ismail  made 
a  triumphal  entry.  The  fickle  city  poured  forth 
its  entire  population  to  greet  the  conqueror.  The 
streets  were  carpeted  with  flowers.  Rich  hangings 
of  tapestries  and  cloth  of  gold  were  suspended 
from  windows  and  balconies.  Vast  throngs  in 
gala  dress  lined  the  way.  Jews  in  yellow  gab- 
erdines, pilgrims  from  Mecca  clad  in  green, 
cavaliers  in  burnished  armour,  gaily  dressed  peas- 
ants from  the  mountains  and  vega,  and  in  every 
balcony  ladies  in  rich  silks  and  glittering  jewels; 
all  made  up  a  show  of  joyous  festivity  which 
seemed  to  assure  this  second  usurper  a  long  and 
happy  reign. 

But  the  last  act  in  this  opera  bouffe  was  not 
long  delayed.  Among  the  captives  taken  at  Mar- 
tos  was  a  Christian  girl  of  striking  beauty,  who 
had  been  rescued,  by  the  young  Prince  Mahomet, 
(a  cousin  of  the  new  King)  from  death  at  the 
hands  of  the  rude  soldiery.  Now  Mahomet  had 
not  only  saved  her  life,  but  had  fallen  passion- 
ately in  love  with  the  girl,  and  when,  upon 
hearing  of   her  beauty,   the   King  ordered   her  re- 

98 


GRANADA 

moval  to  the  royal  harem,  the  young  Prince, 
smarting  under  the  Injustice,  and  exasperated  by 
his  loss,  plotted  a  quick  revenge.  Within  a  few 
hours  others  were  found  suffering  from  like  out- 
rages who  were  only  too  willing  to  join  In  the 
conspiracy.  The  adherence  of  the  captain  of  the 
royal  guard  was  secured,  and  that  very  day,  as 
Ismail  walked  In  his  garden  with  his  vizier,  the 
dagger  of  Mahomet  put  an  end  to  his  life  and 
reign. 

But  so  far,  and  even  for  many  years  longer, 
these  palace  Intrigues  produced  little  effect  upon 
the  actual  life  of  the  city.  They  furnished  the 
excitement  provided  by  a  play,  supplying  the  gos- 
sips of  the  market  with  subjects  for  scandal  and 
material  for  agitation;  but  the  real  life  of 
Granada,  and  Its  material  prosperity,  moved 
steadily  on.  The  manufacture  of  silk  early 
reached  so  high  a  degree  of  perfection  that  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  chief  bazaar  was  re- 
served for  silk  merchants  alone,  and  agents  from 
all  the  great  ports  of  Europe  were  found  there, 
purchasing   these    fabrics    for   their   home   markets. 

Moslem  industry  and  Jewish  traffic  soon  placed 
luxuries  practically  unknown  to  CastUian  nobles 
within  the  reach  of  the  poorest  citizens  of  Gra- 
nada, while  the  courts  of  Moslem  princes  were 
luxurious  beyond  belief.  The  personal  appoint- 
ments  surrounding    Yussef   Abul    Hegiag    (Yussef 

99 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

I.),  as  he  sallied  forth  from  the  gates  of  Gra- 
nada upon  the  campaign  which  ended  In  the  Mos- 
lem disaster  of  Salado,  are  described  as  superb. 
His  pavilion  was  of  blue  and  crimson  silk,  pro- 
fusely embroidered.  Globes  of  silver  surmounted 
the  stakes  which  upheld  It,  and  the  armour  and 
weapons  of  his  numerous  guard  glittered  with 
jewels. 

So  large  a  booty  was  taken  by  the  Christians 
after  their  great  victory  over  this  army,  that 
the  value  of  gold  and  silver  bullion  Is  said  to 
have  been  lessened  one-sixth  throughout  both 
Spain  and  France.  But  again  we  repeat,  "  God 
only  knows." 

This  defeat  was  a  bitter  blow  to  the  Mos- 
lem forces,  and  one  from  which  Granada  never 
fully  recovered;  but  so  highly  did  Yussef  regard 
his  foe,  Alfonso  XL,  that  when  a  few  years  later 
the  latter  died  of  the  plague,  the  entire  court  at 
Granada  was  ordered  into  mourning.  A  ruler 
who  could  display  so  great  a  degree  of  chivalry 
toward  the  author  of  his  most  grievous  overthrow 
might  be  expected  to  prove  a  wise  and  beneficent 
administrator  of  the  affairs  of  his  own  kingdom, 
and  during  this  reign  Granada  made  rapid  ad- 
vance in  both  material  and  Intellectual  pursuits. 
Abuses  of  religious  regulations  and  civil  law  were 
reformed;  the  city  was  everywhere  improved  and 
embellished;  and  royal  patronage  was  extended  to 

lOO 


Little  Mosque,  Alhainbra. 

Looking  toward  the  Generalife. 


GRANADA 

all  departments  of  scientific  endeavour.  One  fa- 
mous botanist,  Belthar,  travelled  over  every  acces- 
sible country  of  the  world,  as  then  known.  In  pur- 
suit of  knowledge  In  botany,  medicine,  and  natural 
science.  A  scientific  school  was  also  established 
at  Granada  In  which  the  most  eminent  men  In 
the  city  publicly  taught  any  who  desired  to  attend. 

Never  was  Granada  so  prosperous  or  so  thickly 
populated  as  at  this  time.  Seventy  thousand  fires 
(hearthstones,  or  families),  or  four  hundred  and 
twenty  thousand  souls,  are  estimated  by  Mendoza 
as  the  number  of  Its  inhabitants.  This  phenom- 
enal growth,  since  the  foundation  of  its  inde- 
pendence under  Mahomet-al-Hamar,  barely  a  hun- 
dred years  before,  had  spread  down  into  the 
vega,  leaving  the  Alhambra  plateau  to  the  citadel, 
the  royal  palace,  and  the  offices  of  the  govern- 
ment. Like  Medina  Az  Zahra  at  Cordova,  the 
Alhambra  had  now  become  a  royal  city,  known  as 
Medina  Alhambra,  and  under  Yussef  I.  it  attained 
Its   greatest   splendour. 

Additions  to  the  royal  abode  had  doubtless 
been  made  by  most  of  the  sovereigns  since  Ma- 
homet I.,  but  so  extensive  and  lavish  were  the 
improvements  made  by  Yussef,  that  the  labours 
of  other  builders  are  entirely  overshadowed,  and, 
in  fact,  count  for  little  in  Its  final  beauty,  which 
was  almost  entirely  due  to  Yussef  I.  A  faint 
shadow    of   this   loveliness   has   been   preserved   In 

lOI 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

the  fragment  of  the  Alhambra  palace  whIcK  has 
escaped  the  rough  handling  of  succeeding  cen- 
turies. From  what  is  left,  some  idea  may  be 
gained  of  its  early  perfection,  but  to-day  its  ex- 
tent during  the  height  of  Granada's  prosperity 
may  only  be  conjectured. 

It  is  probable  that  a  large  proportion  of  the 
enclosure,  still  surrounded  by  the  wall  of  Badls, 
was  filled  with  the  detached  or  semi-detached 
buildings  of  the  harem,  the  residences  of  officials, 
the  quarters  of  the  royal  guard,  and  most  splen- 
did of  all,  the  royal  mosque.  Of  all  this  we  have 
left  only  two  important  courts  and  one  superb 
hall,  with  the  smaller  apartments  and  arcades 
which  surround  them,  and  a  few  isolated  towers. 
These  constitute  to-day,  however,  the  most  consid- 
erable and  important  remains,  in  Spain,  of  the 
domestic  architecture  of  the  Moslem  period. 
They  represent,  also,  the  last  period  of  Saracenic 
architectual  development  in  the  peninsula,  the 
period  in  which  the  influence  of  Byzantium  had 
become  merely  a  tradition,  and  that  of  the 
African  Berbers  paramount.  Even  under  the  Al- 
moravide  viceroys,  as  already  pointed  out,  Berber 
colonization  had  rendered  the  African  peoples  pre- 
dominant in  the  principality  of  Granada,  and, 
during  the  entire  history  of  the  kingdom,  con- 
stantly recurring  alliances  preserved  a  close  inter- 
communication,  and  produced  a  marked  similarity 

102 


Salofi   of  the  Abencerrajes,   Alhambra. 

stalactite  Pendentives. 


.sicl. 


10- 


GRANADA 

of  results  In  the  development  of  Moslem  culture 
on  both  sides  of  the  straits. 

In  their  brick-work  the  Berbers  attained  con- 
siderable constructive  dignity,  but  what  is  left  to 
us  of  the  Alhambra  presents  practically  nothing 
in  that  direction,*  its  beauty  and  value  lying 
solely  in  its  elaboration  of  exquisite  ornament, 
which,  together  with  Its  matchless  situation,  and 
the  consummate  art  displayed  In  Its  arrangement, 
still  endows  the  Alhambra  with  a  delicate  beauty 
and  a  romantic  interest  attached.  In  an  equal  de- 
gree, to  no  other  palace  In  Europe. 

The  walls  of  the  Alhambra  towers  are  built  of 
concrete,  overlaid  with  cream-coloured  stucco,  left, 
on  the  exterior,  perfectly  plain.  Interior  walls  are 
likewise  of  concrete  or  brick,  and  are  also  hidden, 
but  by  a  veneer  of  surface  ornamentation  —  the 
lower  portions  by  a  mosaic  dado  of  glazed  tiles, 
the  upper,  by  fine  stucco  moulded  or  carved  into 
a  delicate  relief  of  arabesques.  Slender  columns 
of  marble  support  arcades  In  which  every  variety 
of  arches  appear;  round,  pointed,  horseshoe,  and 
combinations  of  all  three  forms.  All  arches  are 
of  stucco,  some  moulded  Into  stalactite  fringes, 
but  the  larger  proportion  have  the  edges  of  their 
soffits  delicately  engrailed,  while  the  middle  por- 
tion Is  sunken  and  subjected  to  various  schemes 
of  ornamental  treatment.  The  more  Important  of 
the    original    ceilings    were    stalactite    domes,    of 

103 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

which  only  two  small  ones  remain.  The  stalactite 
dome  In  the  Hall  of  the  Ambassadors  has  been 
replaced  by  an  artesonado  of  arbor  vltae,  Inlaid 
with  mother-of-pearl.  Roofs  are  of  coloured  tiles, 
the  original  roofs  being  probably  blue  and  white; 
now  other  and  more  garish  colours  are  found. 
Window  and  door  openings,  like  the  arcades,  ap- 
pear in  all  varieties  of  arch  forms.  The  former 
are  usually  found  in  pairs,  under  an  enclosing 
arch  which  appears  only  on  the  Interior,  exteriors 
being  absolutely  without  ornament,  merely  holes 
cut  In  the  wall.  But  in  the  interior,  these  ajimiez 
windows  are  not  only  so  placed  as  to  command 
the  most  entrancing  views  of  valley  and  moun- 
tains, but  In  themselves  are  architectural  features 
of  the  most  exquisite  beauty. 

It  is,  however,  to  the  arabesque  decoration 
spread  all  over  Its  walls,  that  the  Alhambra,  as  a 
work  of  art,  owes  its  chief  Importance  and  In- 
terest. The  variety  and  elegance  of  Its  ornament 
render  It  a  veritable  school  of  decorative  design, 
and,  to  the  student,  an  endless  delight.  Among 
the  first  evidences  of  refinement  of  feeling  to 
strike  the  eye  of  the  observer,  is  the  distinction 
between  the  designs  used  in'  the  tiles  of  the  dado 
and  those  of  the  walls  above.  In  the  former  are 
found  geometrical  figures,  produced  by  combina- 
tions of  squares,  angles,  and  circles,  which  impart 
the  appearance   of  solidity  required   for  the  satls- 

104 


GRANADA 

faction  of  the  eye  In  all  basic  work.  In  the  lat- 
ter, the  upper  walls,  although  similar  motives 
often  form  the  fundamental  figures,  the  designs 
are  unified,  or  combined,  by  the  use  of  the  most 
refined  and  subtle  curves.  Furthermore,  ornament 
is  never  Introduced  at  random,  and  figures  never 
stare  out  of  their  surroundings.  Each  motive  is 
given  Its  correct  value  in  the  entire  scheme,  but 
each  may  be  traced  to  its  root;  for  all  lines  of 
foliage  flow  from  a  parent  stem.  Moreover, 
flowing  lines  never  offend  by  abrupt  transitions, 
but  are  always  tangential  to  each  other. 

In  no  school  of  art  Is  the  close  study  of  nature 
more  apparent  than  In  this  work  of  the  Moors. 
Like  all  architectural  decoration  which  is  truly 
architectural,^  it  Is  highly  conventional,  but  the 
idealized  forms  follow  in  every  detail  those  of 
plant  life.  The  primary  division  of  the  space  to 
be  decorated  Into  approximately  equal  areas; 
the  equal  distribution  of  intermediate  lines;  the 
subtle  curves,  and  their  flow  from  a  single  stem, 
may  be  found  in  every  motive.  Then,  too,  the 
use  of  living  forms  imparts  a  vigour  to  these 
Moorish  arabesques  which  is  their  crowning  ex- 
cellence, and  has  long  rendered  them  models  for 
schools  of  decorative  art. 

The  use  of  inscriptions  as  a   decorative  feature 

2  See  Gothic  Sculpture  in  "  French  Cathedrals  and  Chateaux,"  by 
the  author  of  this  book. 

105 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

IS  common  to  all  Moslem  peoples.  They  were 
usually  verses  from  the  Koran,  pious  phrases,  prov- 
lerbs,  or  sentences  and  poems  In  praise  of  the  buUd- 
/  ers  or  owners  of  the  building  upon  which  they 
were  found.  In  the  Alhambra,  Inscriptions  are 
written  both  in  Cufic  and  Italic  characters,  and 
the  former  are  so  symmetrical  as  to  read  both 
ways.  In  all  cases  they  are  wrought  with  a 
purity  of  line  and  perfection  of  proportion  which 
render  them  in  the  highest  degree  decorative. 
Continuous  bands  of  Inscriptions  divide  wall 
spaces  Into  panels,  and  surround  doors  and  win- 
dows. Occasionally,  sentences  Indicate  usage,  as  In 
the  case  of  the  niches,  cut  In  the  thickness  of  the 
walls,  of  portals,  whose  Inscriptions  signify  that 
they  were  intended  to  contain  water-bottles. 

In  the  treatment  of  capitals,  the  Moors  who 
built  the  Alhambra  palace  displayed  the  utmost 
delicacy  of  feeling.  The  transition  from  the 
round  column  to  the  always  square  abacus  Is  man- 
aged with  the  simplest  modelling — a  slight  round- 
ing of  all  angles — leaving  an  essentially  square 
capital.  In  the  best  treatment  this  shape  Is  over- 
laid, In  very  slight  relief,  with  the  most  ele- 
mentary of  leaf  forms  whose  stems  rise  from  the 
neck  of  the  column.  The  stalactite  capitals  are 
curious  rather  than  beautiful,  yet  the  purity  of 
the  general  form  Is  retained,  and  the  slender 
columns  of  the  Alhambra  are  further  ornamented, 

106 


GRANADA 

just  below  the  capitals,  by  a  number  of  roll 
mouldings.  These  mouldings  constitute  a  base  for 
the  spring  of  the  decoration  of  the  latter,  and 
add  a  play  of  light  and  shade  which  forms  an 
admirable    transition    from    columns    to    capitals. 

Like  all  primitive  peoples,  the  Moors  used 
colour  to  assist  In  the  development  of  decorative 
forms,  and,  as  in  their  decorative  designs,  the  use 
of  colour  was  derived  from  a  study  of  the  laws 
of  nature.  In  plant  life  every  change  of  form 
is  marked  by  a  change  of  colour,  which  assists  in 
producing  distinctness.  The  ancients,  inspired  by 
nature,  always  defined  the  constructive  outlines  of 
their  buildings  with  colour,  adding  an  apparent 
additional  height,  length,  breadth,  or  bulk,  by  its 
judicious  application.  In  ornaments  in  relief,  the 
use  of  colour  is  of  paramount  importance,  setting 
out  certain  figures  and  reducing  the  value  of 
others. 

As  to  choice  of  colour,  it  has  been  pointed  out 
by  leading  authorities  that,  during  the  early  and 
best  periods  of  their  art,  the  Egyptians  and 
Greeks,  as  well  as  the  Arabs  and  Moors,  used  a 
largely  preponderating  proportion  of  the  primary 
colours,  red,  yellow,  and  blue.  It  is  also  found 
that  In  their  arrangement  of  colour  all  followed 
certain  fixed  principles  found  in  nature,  where  the 
primary  colours  commonly  appear  in  the  upper 
parts  of  objects,  and  the  secondary  or  tertiary  be- 

107 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

low.  In  plants,  the  reds,  yellows,  and  blues  are 
found  In  the  flowers;  the  secondary  green  below, 
with  the  tertiary  brown  of  the  earth  below  that; 
and  the  vast  extent  of  the  background  of  blue 
sky  hints  at  once  of  the  necessary  preponderance 
of  this  primary  colour  in  a  harmonious  colour 
arrangement. 

In  accordance  with  these  natural  laws,  the  stucco 
arabesques  of  the  upper  walls  of  the  Alhambra 
were  coloured  red,  blue,  and  yellow.  The  red, 
being  the  strongest  colour,  was  placed  In  the 
depths  of  the  relief,  the  yellow  or  gold  on  the 
surface,  and  the  blue  between.  Each  colour  was 
sharply  separated  from  the  next  by  a  white 
line,  or  by  the  form  of  the  relief;  and.  In  the 
colouring  of  the  various  diapers,  the  blue  was 
always  found  to  cover  the  largest  area.  As  left 
by  the  Moors,  the  secondary  colours,  purple, 
green,^  and  orange,  appear  In  the  Alhambra  only 
In  the  mosaic  dados,  whose  brilliant  tones  and 
lustrous  surface  add  an  effect  of  hardness  to 
already    vigorous    decorative    designs. 

It  is  thought  probable  that  a  final  splendour 
was  added  to  this  show  of  bright  colour  by  gild- 
ing the  columns.  If  so  covered,  the  polished  sur- 
faces of  these  shafts  furnished  the  high  lights  of 

s  Where  traces  of  green  are  now  found  in  the  upper  walls,  they 
are  either  a  mistaken  restoration,  or  the  metallic  pigment  left  from 
an   original   blue. 

io8 


Window  of  Lindaraja,  Alhamhra. 

Looking  into  Garden  of  Lindaraja. 


GRANADA 

a  colour  scheme  whose  harmonious  brilliance  has 
never  been  equalled  in  Western  art,  and,  in  the 
East,  only  by  those  peoples  from  whom  the  Arabs 
derived  their  culture,  or  to  whom  they  gave  it. 

As  left  to-day,  the  earliest  portion  of  the  palace 
of  the  Alhambra,  the  Tower  of  Comarcs,  in 
which  Is  the  Hall  of  the  Ambassadors,  was  built 
by  Mahomet  I.  As  to  how  much  was  accom- 
plished by  his  successors  before  Yussef  I.  we  may 
only  conjecture.  But  to  Yussef  is  attributed  the 
gates  of  Justlcia  and  Vino,  the  Hall  of  the  Two 
Sisters,  and  the  Baths;  also  the  redecorating,  re- 
gilding,  and  repainting  of  the  entire  palace.  With 
its  much  greater  extent  under  Yussef,  one  does 
not  wonder  that  the  source  of  the  vast  wealth  re- 
quired for  the  work  should  have  been  vulgarly 
attributed  to  magic.  After  a  time  this  belief  grew 
Into  the  legend  that  Yussef  was  a  magician,  who 
had  sold  himself  to  the  devil  for  means  to  em* 
hellish  his  palace.  In  consequence  of  this  bargain 
the  entire  fortress  was  said  to  have  been  laid 
under  a  spell,  to  be  broken  only  when  the  hand 
upon  the  outer  arch  of  the  Puerta  de  Justlcia 
should  reach  down  and  grasp  the  key  upon  the 
inner  one,  when  the  entire  pile  would  tumble  to 
the  ground  and  vanish.  The  very  common  cus- 
tom among  Moslem  peoples,  of  placing  a  hand 
over  their  doors,  where  it  is  supposed  to  avert 
the  baleful  effects  of  the  evil  eye,   suggests  a  far 

109 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

more  probable  reason  for  Its  use  over  the  chief 
portal  of  the  Alhambra;  but  If  a  belief  in  magic 
were  ever  warranted  by  conditions,  such  was 
surely  found  In  the  falry-like  beauty  of  the  en- 
chanted palace  to  which  that  portal  gave  access. 
The  mosque  of  the  Alhambra  occupied  a  site 
at  the  eastern  end  of  the  enclosure,  near  what  Is 
now  the  parish  church  of  San  Francisco;  but,  al- 
though It  was  still  In  existence,  In  1812,  at  the 
time  of  the  occupation  of  the  fortress  by  the 
French,  no  traces  of  It  now  remain.  It  was  In 
this  mosque  that  the  wise  and  good  king,  Yussef 
I.,  met  his  tragic  death.  Here,  as  he  was  per- 
forming the  last  prostration  of  his  public  prayer, 
a  madman  rushed  upon  him  with  a  Khanjar,  or 
Yataghan,  with  which  he  inflicted  a  mortal 
wound.  The  King  was  carried  senseless  to  the 
palace,  where  he  soon  expired,  while  the  assassin 
was  given  up  to  the  Infuriated  mob  which  mur- 
dered him  and  burned  his  body.  It  Is  pleasing 
to  record  that  besides  their  anger  at  his  un- 
timely taking  off,  the  fickle  Granadines  sincerely 
mourned  the  death  of  Yussef. 


no 


Garden  of  Lindaraja,  Alhambra. 


Chapter  XVI 
GRANADA— Continued 

WITH  the  accession  of  Mahomet  V., 
the  son  of  Yussef  I.,  is  opened  up 
another  characteristic  Granadine  mel- 
odrama; the  players  upon  the  stage  being  the 
young  King,  Mahomet;  one  of  his  numerous  step- 
mothers, with  her  son  Ismail;  and  the  crafty  and 
resolute  brother-in-law  of  the  latter,  Abu  Said. 
Upon  the  death  of  Yussef,  one  of  his  royal  wid- 
ows, whose  name  is  not  given,  retired,  with  her 
son  Ismail,  to  a  splendid  palace  near  the  Al- 
hambra,  whose  use  was  the  gift  of  the  generous 
young  King;  and  here  plots  were  matured  for  his 
overthrow.  Abu  Said  had  been  one  of  the  pillars 
of  the  throne,  but  the  conspirators  soon  gained 
his  adherence,  probably  by  means  of  the  rich 
treasure  which  the  mother  of  Ismail  is  credited 
with  having  abstracted  from  the  royal  vaults  upon 
her  removal  from  the  Alhambra. 

It  was  five  years  before  the  treason  was  ripe. 
Then  one  night  a  hundred  picked  men  scaled  the 
walls  of  the  Alhambra.  At  a  given  signal  they 
fell  upon  the  sentinels,  whom  they  quickly  over- 
powered, after  which  they  rushed  on  through  the 
passages  of  the  palace,   where  all  they  met  were 

III 


BUILDERS  OF   SPAIN 

put  to  the  sword.  One  account  says  that  Ma- 
homet's escape  resulted  from  his  chance  absence 
for  the  night,  which  he  was  spending  at  the  pal- 
ace of  Generallfe.  Another,  that  the  cupidity  of 
the  assailants  tempted  them  to  linger  too  long 
gathering  the  rich  booty  by  which  they  were  sur- 
rounded, ere  they  made  their  way  to  the  royal 
apartments.  In  either  case  the  monarch  Is  said 
to  have  made  his  way  out  of  the  city,  clad  in 
woman's  clothing  provided  by  a  favourite  slave, 
through  a  secret  subterranean  passage. 

While  Mahomet  fled  in  safety  to  Gaudix,  and 
later  took  a  journey  to  Africa,  where  he  was 
regally  entertained  by  the  King  of  Fez,  Ismail 
enjoyed  a  brief  period  of  royal  authority.  Then 
came  the  young  King's  murder  by  Abu  Said,  who. 
In  turn,  followed  his  crime  by  usurpation  of  the 
throne.  For  a  time  Abu  Said's  high-handed 
measures  maintained  his  sudden  assumption  of 
power,  but  growing  discontent,  together  with  the 
Intrigues  of  the  friends  of  Mahomet,  soon  warned 
him  of  the  uncertainty  of  his  position.  He  then 
determined  to  ally  himself  with  the  Castllian  King, 
Pedro  the  Cruel.  As  a  preliminary  sop  to  that 
monarch,  large  numbers  of  Christian  captives  were 
liberated  and  sent  home  loaded  with  rich  gifts. 
In  this  manner  a  safe-conduct  was  secured  from 
Pedro,  after  which  Abu  Said,  with  a  numerous 
escort,  set  out  for  Seville,  from  whence  he  hoped 

112 


GRANADA 

to  return  at  the  head  of  an  allied  army  whose 
power  was  expected  to  overawe  the  refractory 
Granadlnes. 

But  Abu  Said  and  his  retinue  made  the  fatal 
mistake  of  appearing  at  the  court  of  Pedro  re- 
splendent In  silks  and  Inlaid  armour,  and  decked 
out  with  a  magnificent  array  of  jewels.  The 
Christian  King  found  these  rich  trappings  and 
habiliments  so  much  to  his  taste  that  It  became 
convenient  to  forget  the  safe-conduct  earlier 
signed  by  his  hand;  and,  as  told  In  the  story  of 
Seville,  their  possession  was  secured,  together  with 
the  fervent  gratitude  of  the  now  restored  Ma- 
homet, by  the  execution  of  Abu  Said  and  his  en- 
tire escort.  The  last  act  of  the  play  opens  with 
Mahomet  V.  making  a  royal  entry  into  his  cap- 
ital, where  he  once  more  ascended  the  throne  from 
which  he  had  been  driven  In  such  undignified 
haste.  And  in  the  final  scene,  the  Granadlne  King 
received  from  the  treacherous  Pedro  the  head  of 
Abu  Said,  in  return  for  which  royal  gift  he  at 
once  dispatched  to  Seville  twenty-five  of  the  best 
horses  Granada  afforded,  all  richly  caparisoned,  as 
many  scimitars  adorned  with  precious  stones,  and 
all  the  unransomed  Christian  captives  remaining  in 
his   possession. 

Although  Mahomet  V.  named  his  elder  son, 
Yussef,  as  his  successor,  the  throne  was  seized 
by    a    younger    son,    who    became    Mahomet    VL 

113 


BUILDERS  OF   SPAIN 

Yussef,  who  was  a  prince  of  quiet  tastes,  accepted 
with  philosophic  resignation  his  displacement  and 
subsequent  exile  to  the  castle  of  Salobrena;  pos- 
sibly he  even  preferred  the  quiet  enjoyment  of 
this  estate  to  the  occupation  of  an  unsteady 
throne.  But  Mahomet  was  not  destined  long  to 
enjoy  his  ill-gotten  power.  He  was  attacked  by 
a  sudden  and  severe  illness  which  soon  gave  indi- 
cation of  a  fatal  termination.  Rapid  measures 
were  then  taken  by  the  dying  King  to  ensure  the 
succession  to  his  son.  The  righteous  claims  of 
Yussef  being  the  chief  danger,  a  messenger  was 
dispatched  to  the  alcalde  of  Salobrena,  command- 
ing the  immediate  execution  of  Yussef,  and  the 
return  of  his  head  by  the  hand  of  him  who  car- 
ried the  warrant. 

The  alcalde  was  found  with  his  royal  prisoner, 
for  whom  he  had  conceived  a  warm  affection,  en- 
gaged In  a  game  of  chess;  and  the  consternation 
upon  his  face  as  he  perused  the  fatal  order  at 
once  revealed  its  portent  to  the  intended  victim. 
But  even  at  this  crisis  Yussef  maintained  his 
composure,  merely  requesting  a  few  hours'  respite 
In  which  to  take  leave  of  his  family.  As  the 
messenger's  head  was  endangered  by  delay,  his 
opposition  forced  from  the  alcalde  a  reluctant 
denial  of  Yussef's  request,  but  he  was  finally  pre- 
vailed upon  to  allow  the  completion  of  the  game. 
The    play,    therefore,    proceeded;    Yussef    calmly 

114 


GRANADA 

contesting  point  after  point,  and  even  rallying  his 
stricken  opponent  upon  his  distracted  movements 
of  jewelled  knights  and  bishops.  As  the  last 
move  was  being  made,  two  horsemen  gal- 
loped up  at  full  speed.  Mahomet  was  dead,  and 
these  messengers  came  to  kiss  the  hand  of  Yus- 
sef,   as  Yussef  III.,   King  of  Granada. 

The  prestige  of  the  Moslem  state  In  the  af- 
fairs of  Spain  was  beginning  to  weaken,  and 
only  a  precarious  peace  was  maintained  with  the 
growing  power  of  the  kings  of  Castile;  but  life 
at  Granada  was  never  more  sumptuous  or  more 
lavish.  Not  only  Granada,  but  her  tributary  cities, 
were  engaged  in  industries  whose  products  ex- 
celled those  of  any  other  quarter  of  Europe. 
Baeza  produced  the  finest  silks,  and  Albacete, 
weapons  which  still  rank  with  those  of  Toledo  in 
keenness  of  steel  and  elegance  of  workmanship. 
Other  towns  were  famous  for  furniture  of  ebony 
and  sandalwood  inlaid  with  mother-of-pearl  and 
ivory,  filigree,  jewellery,  bronzes,  embossed  and 
gilded  leather,  paper  made  from  flax  and  cotton, 
mats  of  palm  and  esparto  which  were  soft  and 
flexible  and  dyed  brilliant  colours;  and  Granada 
herself  produced  silks  and  brocades,  fine  woollens, 
a  famous  coral-coloured  pottery  flecked  with  gold, 
enamels,  and  mosaics  curiously  wrought  and  fused 
with  precious  metals.  All  these  products  were 
found     in    profusion     in     the     great    bazaars     of 

115 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

Granada  and  in  the  tiny  shops  which  lined  her 
narrow   streets. 

So  much  of  material  splendour  naturally  gave 
rise  to  marked  brilliance  of  court  life.  The 
famous  plaza  —  the  Blb-al-Rambla  (the  gate  of 
the  river),  so  called  because  It  opened  upon  the 
now  vaulted-over  Darro — is  said  to  have  been 
the  scene  of  some  of  the  most  splendid  tourna- 
ments ever  held  In  Europe.  Christian  cavaliers, 
of  whom  there  were  at  all  times  a  number  resid- 
ing in  Granada,  repaired  to  these  lists  to  settle 
private  quarrels  or  to  try  their  skill  with  their 
Moslem    hosts. 

Under  the  dignified  patronage  of  the  Grana- 
dlne  kings  were  observed  all  courtly  formali- 
ties then  exercised  elsewhere  in  European  cap- 
itals. Heralds  trumpeted  the  entrance  of  knights 
into  the  lists  and  the  beginning  of  all  contests, 
and  nowhere  was  found  a  more  lavish  distribution 
of  rewards;  all  presented  with  the  graceful  and 
stately  ceremonies,  in  whose  formalities  none  were 
more  punctilious  or  more  accomplished  than  the 
nobles  of  Granada.  The  houses  surrounding  the 
plaza  were  always  richly  decked  for  such  occa- 
sions; balconies  and  windows  being  hung  with 
tapestries,  silks,  and  cloth  of  gold;  and  every 
balcony  and  window  was  occupied  by  groups  of 
beautiful  women,  whom  the  custom  of  the  Anda- 
lusian   Moslems  allowed  to   appear  unveiled.     Ar- 

ii6 


GRANADA 

rayed  in  richly  coloured  silks,  and  decked  witH 
gleaming  jewels,  these  dark-eyed  hourls  added 
greatly  to  the  brilliance  of  the  scene.  A  spacious 
elevated  balcony  was  reserved  for  the  King,  who 
was  surrounded  by  the  officials  of  his  court,  the 
royal  guards,  and  long  rows  of  black  eunuchs, 
all  In  resplendent  uniforms.  Under  the  courtly 
and  polished  Yussef  III.,  blood  was  rarely  shed 
by  the  contestants,  yet  the  combats  were  made  as 
brilliant  and  exciting  as  possible  within  the  limits 
Imposed. 

It  Is  claimed  that,  at  this  time,  Granada  num- 
bered half  a  million  Inhabitants;  that  her  walls 
measured  seven  miles  In  circumference;  that  there 
were  fourteen  thousand  minarets,  cupolas,  and 
towers  rising  from  her  mosques,  gardens,  and  vil- 
las; that  one  hundred  and  thirty  mills  might  have 
been  found  In  the  valley  of  the  Darro;  and  that 
there  were  seventeen  suburbs  and  nine  royal  vil- 
las. The  largest  of  the  suburbs  was  the  Albay- 
zln,  whose  houses  numbered  ten  thousand.  The 
Alhambra  was  by  far  the  most  extensive  and  Im- 
portant of  the  royal  villas,  and  the  Alhambra 
and  the  Generallfe  are  the  only  ones  of  which 
any  Important  portions  remain. 

The  name  of  the  latter,  Generallfe,  is  a  cor- 
ruption from  the  Arabic,  Jennatu-1-arif,  which  is 
usually  translated  to  mean  "the  garden  of  the 
architect."    But  a  more  probable  suggestion  is  that  it 

117 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

preserves  the  name  of  the  original  builder,  who  Is 
thought  to  have  been  one  of  the  early  kings  or 
governors  of  Granada.  During  the  early  years 
of  the  fourteenth  century,  the  Generallfe  was 
much  enlarged  and  embellished,  and  as  its  situa- 
tion is  higher  and  more  retired  than  the  Alham- 
bra,  it  was  used  by  the  kings  of  Granada  as  a 
summer  palace.  The  manner  of  construction  and 
style  of  decoration  employed  in  the  Generalife 
are  similar  to  those  of  the  Alhambra,  and  while 
it  never  vied  with  the  latter  in  extent  or  mag- 
nificence, the  beauty  of  its  situation,  with  the  lux- 
uriance of  its  gardens,  endowed  it  with  a  charm 
probably  lacking  within  the  more  crowded  pre- 
cincts of  the  Alhambra  enclosure. 

Even  with  the  little  of  its  early  beauty  pre- 
served to-day,  the  Generalife,  with  Its  rose-em- 
bowered gallery,  mossy  old  garden,  and  superb 
views,  Is  an  abode  such  as  one  dreams  of.  What 
it  was  In  the  days  of  Its  glory  we  may  well 
Imagine.  With  its  carved  and  painted  arches 
still  unbroken,  and  when  one  might  have  looked 
down  upon  the  picturesque  mass  of  Medina  Al- 
hambra; and,  beyond  and  below,  upon  the  wide 
sweep  of  Granada's  encircling  wall  with  its  hun- 
dreds of  towers  and  twenty  great  gates,  enclosing 
mosques  and  villas,  springing  minarets  and  cu- 
polas, slender  towers  with  galleries  and  coupled 
windows;    and   when,    even    as    to-day,    the    back- 

ii8 


GRANADA 

ground  of  the  picture  was  the  green  slope  of  the 
jagged  and  snow-crowned  Sierras,  turned  to  pur- 
ple and  rose  each  day  by  the  rays  of  the  setting 
sun;  then  the  picture,  still  one  of  the  fairest  In 
the  world,  must  have  been  the  glory  of  every 
true  son  of  Granada. 

By  the  side  of  the  great  mosque  in  Granada 
was  the  University,  at  this  time  the  chief  centre  of 
Moslem  scholarship  In  the  peninsula.  Its  portals 
were  flanked  by  huge  carved  llons,^  but  Its  apart- 
ments were  left  entirely  devoid  of  ornament, 
which,  it  was  thought,  would  prove  distracting  to 
the  student.  But  this  edifice  furnishes  the  sole 
example  in  Granada  of  such  restraint.  The 
mosque  in  the  Albayzin  quarter  was  regarded  a[s 
one  of  the  most  splendid  In  the  kingdom,  and 
almost  rivalled  the  great  mosque  in  the  centre  of 
the  city,  while  that  of  Medina  Alhambra  is  de- 
scribed as  of  regal  magnificence.  Columns  of 
jasper,  porphyry,  Numidlan  marble,  and  alabaster; 
carved  stucco  inlaid  with  onyx  and  lazullte;  orna- 
ments of  carved  silver;  and  lamps  of  shell, 
mother-of-pearl,  and  bronze,  with  shades  of 
rose-coloured  silk;  all  enumerated  in  descriptions 
of  this  latter  mosque,  make  up  a  picture  of 
sumptuous  magnificence  truly  oriental  in  its  at- 
mosphere. 

1  Another  instance  of  late  disregard  of  the  early  precepts  of  the 
faith. 

119 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

Added  to  the  enervating  influence  of  such  ma- 
terial splendour  was  the  enfeebling  effect  of  a  de- 
gree of  creature  comfort  almost  modern.  Houses 
were  warmed  during  the  winter  by  a  system  of 
earthen  pipes  not  unlike  a  modern  furnace,  and 
greater  warmth  was  provided  when  desired,  by 
metal  globes  filled  with  burning  charcoal,  which 
could  be  rolled  on  the  floors.  Protection  from 
summer  heat  was  afforded  by  walls  of  great  thick- 
ness; awnings  were  spread  from  balconies  or 
stretched  across  streets;  and  fresh  cool  water  from 
the  mountains  sang  in  running  streams  or  gushed 
from  fountains  on  every  hand. 

Mahomet  VII.  ascended  the  throne  of  Granada 
three  times,  twice,  after  short  periods  of  exile, 
being  welcomed  back  with  extravagant  bursts  of 
joy  by  the  fickle  populace  which  had  earlier 
driven  him  forth  with  equally  frantic  expressions 
of  hostility.  But  a  third  overthrow  finally  con- 
signed him  to  a  prison  and  oblivion,  while  two 
claimants  remained  to  contest  the  succession;  and 
for  a  number  of  years  the  Icingdom  suffered  a 
divided  sway.  Othman  held  the  capital,  but  Is- 
mail was  entrenched  at  Montefrio,  and  while 
they  wasted  the  country  in  fratricidal  strife, 
leaving  the  frontier  practically  undefended,  a 
number  of  border  towns  and  the  important  port 
of  Gibraltar  were  seized  by  the  King  of  Castile. 
Finally    the    unpopularity   of   Othman    resulted   in 

-120 


Court  of  Lions,  Alhambra. 


GRANADA 

his  overthrow  and  the  supremacy  of  Ismail,  and 
in  1466  the  death  of  Ismail,  with  the  accession 
of  his  son,  Mulay  Abul  Hassen,  opens  up  the 
complicated  plot  of  the  last  melodrama  In  the 
annals    of    the    Moslem    kingdom    of   Granada. 

For  a  time  Abul  Hassen  displayed  marked 
courage  and  ability.  When  the  envoys  of  Ferdi- 
nand and  Isabella  waited  upon  him  in  his  superb 
audience  chamber  In  the  Hall  of  Ambassadors, 
demanding  arrears  of  tribute,  he  dared  return 
the  defiant  reply :  "  Tell  your  sovereigns  that  the 
kings  who  used  to  pay  tribute  to  the  Castlllan 
crown  are  dead.  Our  mint  at  present  coins  noth- 
ing but  blades  of  scimitars  and  heads  of  lances." 
But  Abul  Hassen  had  no  staying  power,  and  was 
no  match  for  the  Catholic  sovereigns  whose  quiet 
determination  Is  expressed  In  Ferdinand's  response: 
"  I  will  pick  the  seeds  of  this  pomegranate  one  by 
one."  Then,  too,  as  Al  Makkarl  remarks,  "the 
Moslem  empire  went  on  decaying,"  and  many 
were  the  signs  and  portents  which  Indicated  its  ap- 
proaching ruin.  Not  the  least  of  these  omens 
of  111  was  the  taking  down  of  the  old  weathercock 
from  the  top  of  the  old  Kassabah  of  Badls.  Gay- 
angos  says  that  the  site  of  this  palace  Is  now  occu- 
pied by  the  Casa  del  Carbon.  The  removal  of  the 
vane,  long  regarded  as  a  talisman,  was  occasioned 
by  repairs,  but  to  the  fearful,  its  loss  caused 
grave  anxiety. 

121 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN. 

After  several  campaigns  against  the  Christians, 
in  which  "  the  llghtenlngs  of  victory  had  shone  in 
his  favour,"  Abul  Hassen  celebrated  his  early  tri- 
umphs by  a  grand  military  review  at  Granada. 
He  caused  his  architects  to  erect  for  him  a  plat- 
form outside  his  castle  of  Alhambra,  and  for  a 
month  the  troops  ceased  not  in  passing  daily  be- 
fore him.  The  soldiers  were  clad  in  silken  robes 
and  armour  of  polished  steel.  Their  swords, 
spears,  and  shields  were  richly  embossed  in  gold 
and  silver,  and  they  were  mounted  on  fleet  steeds. 

But  one  day,  when  the  King  was  seated  as 
usual  under  his  pavilion,  and  the  entire  vicinity 
was  crowded  with  spectators  gathered  to  witness 
the  pageant  of  the  passing  troops,  God  permitted 
a  sudden  rainfall,  which  came  down  in  such  tor- 
rents that  the  Darro  overflowed  its  banks. 
"Such  was  the  fury  of  the  storm  that  trees, 
houses,  bridges,  walls,  and  mills  were  swept 
away.  So  frightful  an  inundation  had  never  be- 
fore been  experienced  in  that  country,"  and,  the 
historian  tells  us,  "the  people  naturally  re- 
garded it  as  a  harbinger  of  the  dreadful  calami- 
ties which  awaited  the  Moslems  in  just  chastise- 
ment  for  their  perversity  and  their  sins." 

The  opening  of  the  final  campaigns  in  that 
"right  gentle  war" — the  conquest  of  Granada — 
was  the  work  of  Abul  Hassen.  Upon  the  princi- 
ple of  doing  unto  your  neighbour  what  he  would 

122 


GRANADA 

like  to  do  to  you,  and  doing  it  first,  Abul  Hassen 
no  sooner  learned  that  the  Most  Catholic  Sov- 
ereigns had  settled  the  affairs  of  their  own  king- 
doms, and  were  free  to  undertake  those  of  the 
Moslem  state,  than  he  set  out  with  an  army  bent 
upon  those  border  hostilities  to  which  Moslem- 
Christian  warfare  had  long  been  reduced.  But 
Abul  Hassen's  reduction  of  Zahara  was  soon 
more  than  counterbalanced  by  the  Christian  seiz- 
ure of  the  very  Important  frontier  stronghold  of 
Alhama.  The  recapture  of  that  valuable  post 
was  at  once  undertaken  by  the  Granadlne  army, 
and  very  possibly  might  have  been  accomplished, 
but  Abul  Hassen  was  recalled  to  his  capital  by 
news  of  a  conspiracy  to  dethrone  him;  and 
thenceforth  the  chief  perils  which  beset  the  Gran- 
adine  kingdom  were  found  within  its  own  borders 
rather  than  without. 

The  leaders  of  the  harem  intrigue  with  which 
this  act  of  the  play  begins,  were  the  Sultana 
Ayesha  and  a  Christian  maiden  whom  the  Mos- 
lems had  named  Zoraya — "The  Morning  Star." 
From  the  condition  of  a  captive,  the  latter  had 
risen  to  the  position  of  favourite  wife  of  Abul 
Hassen,  and  the  exaltation  of  her  rival  had 
aroused  a  bitter  jealousy  in  the  breast  of  Ayesha. 
Both  women  were  the  mothers  of  sons,  and  each 
was  soon  enmeshed  in  intrigues  to  secure  the  suc- 
cession   for   her    own.     A    faction    known    as    the 

123 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

Zegrls  supported  the  claims  of  Zoraya,  and  an- 
other, called  the  Abencerrages,  those  of  Ayesha. 
The  name  of  Zoraya's  son  Is  of  no  moment,  but 
the  son  of  Ayesha  was  Abu  Abdillah,  better 
known  as  Boabdil. 

One  of  the  chief  episodes  In  this  turbulent 
drama  was  the  murder,  within  the  palace  of  the 
Alhambra,  of  a  large  number  of  the  Abencer- 
rages. But  accounts  of  its  date,  and  even  of  its 
instigator,  are  confused  and  contradictory.  It  is 
most  probable,  however,  that  the  summary  ex- 
ecution was  at  the  order  of  Abul  Hassen;  and, 
whether  It  occasioned  or  followed  the  conspiracy 
which  recalled  the  King  from  the  siege  of  Al- 
hama,  its  horrors,  added  to  the  loss  of  that 
stronghold,  resulted  In  a  sensible  decline  of  his 
popularity  with  the  fickle  Granadines. 

But  for  the  moment  Abul  Hassen  dominated 
the  situation.  Ayesha  and  Boabdil  were  Impris- 
oned In  the  tower  of  Comares,  and  with  the 
turbulent  Abencerrages  cowed  and  crippled  by  the 
massacre  of  their  leaders,  the  weary  King  retired 
for  a  season  of  rest  and  relaxation  In  the  pleas- 
ures of  his  palace.  Within  a  few  days,  how- 
ever, word  was  brought  of  the  escape  of  Boabdil, 
who  had  been  let  down  from  a  window  by  his 
mother,  by  means  of  a  rope  made  of  the  veils 
of   her  attendant  women. 

With    the    usual    skepticism    of    an  older    mind 
124 


GRANADA 

regarding  the  powers  of  the  young,  Abul  Hassen 
treated  the  loss  of  his  prisoner  as  of  little  con- 
sequence. What  was  his  chagrin,  therefore, 
when,  a  few  days  later,  shouts  of  "  Long  live 
King  Abu  Abdillah"  reached  his  startled  ears 
from  the  streets  af  Granada,  where  Boabdil  was 
being  paraded  at  the  head  of  a  triumphal  pro- 
cession. The  young  Prince  was  already  In  pos- 
session of  the  Albayzln,  and  when  Abul  Hassen, 
thinking  to  quell  the  Insurrection  by  his  mere 
presence,  marched  out  of  the  gates  of  the  Al- 
hambra,  he  was  received  with  shouts  of  derision, 
and  that  night  was  obliged  to  flee  from  the  city 
to  save  his  life. 

The  next  lifting  of  the  curtain  shows  Boabdil 
in  possession  of  the  Alhambra,  and  Abul  Hassen 
endeavouring  to  regain  his  popularity  by  a  cam- 
paign against  the  Christians.  The  success  which 
attended  the  ventures  of  the  elder  King  at  last 
forced  Bobadll,  likewise,  In  order  to  maintain  his 
already  waning  favour  with  the  people,  to  take 
the  field  against  the  same  foe.  But  Boabdil  em- 
barked upon  his  campaign  with  all  the  pomp  and 
circumstance  of  a  holiday  parade,  and  not  only 
did  he  suffer  a  crushing  defeat  at  the  hands  of 
the  Christians,  but  he  himself  was  taken  prisoner. 
Release  was  procured  for  the  young  King  by  the 
payment  of  a  heavy  ransom  and  the  promise  of 
vassalage,  but  Boabdil's  return  to  Granada   found 

125 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

his  outraged  father  once  more  seated  upon  the 
throne. 

Again  the  Prince,  aided  by  his  energetic  mother, 
managed  to  gain  possession  of  the  Albayzln,  from 
which  dally  assaults  were  delivered  upon  the  Al- 
hambra;  but  after  the  waste  of  much  precious 
blood,  Boabdil  was  forced  to  retire,  leaving  the 
victory  for  the  time  In  the  hands  of  Abul  Has- 
sen.  But  at  best  the  hold  of  Abul  Hassen  was 
Insecure,  and  after  a  few  years,  during  which 
his  power  was  sensibly  reduced  by  the  advance  of 
Christian  arms  and  the  continued  Intrigues  of 
Boabdil,  the  aged  King,  now  nearly  blind,  was 
induced  to  abdicate  in  favour  of  his  brother,  Al- 
Zagal. 

Al-Zagal  had  long  held  a  kind  of  suzerainty 
over  Malaga,  and  had  already  distinguished  him- 
self In  campaigns  against  the  Christians,  as  well  as 
in  hostilities  against  his  ungrateful  nephew.  As 
a  proof  of  his  warlike  prowess  and  zeal  for  the 
faith,  when  he  made  his  triumphant  entry  into 
Granada,  the  saddles  of  Al-Zagal  and  his  escort 
were  decorated  with  the  dangling  heads  of  a 
hundred  Christians  whom  they  had  slaughtered 
on  their  way  from  Malaga.  He  was  greeted  with 
wild  enthusiasm,  the  streets  ringing  with  the 
shouts  which  welcomed  his  arrival  and  greeted 
the  signs  of  his  exploits.  At  the  same  moment 
Abul   Hassen   was   being   led   by   his   slaves   to    a 

126 


GRANADA 

litter  in  which,  by  quiet  and  unfrequented  streets, 
he  was  carried  out  of  a  little-used  gate,  and  away 
to  his  retreat  in  a  secluded  valley  of  the  Sierras. 
There  his  last  few  days  were  spent,  and  there 
the  lonely  peak  of  Mulay  Hassen  marks  the  place 
of  his  sepulchre. 

But  the  plots  of  Boabdil  and  his  still  active 
mother  left  Al-Zagal  but  a  short  period  of  peace- 
ful enjoyment  of  his  new  authority.  Before  many 
days  Boabdil  was  once  more  entrenched  in  the  Al- 
bayzin,  and  the  next  act  shows  an  attempt  at 
united  rule,  with  Granada  as  the  common  resi- 
dence of  both  sovereigns.  This  arrangement, 
which  infringed  upon  Boabdil's  obligations  as  a 
vassal  of  the  Catholic  Sovereigns,  called  down 
upon  his  head  the  wrath  of  Ferdinand,  and  pre- 
cipitated the  final  triangular  hostilities  in  which 
the  complete  overthrow  of  Moslem  power  was 
to  be  accomplished.  Boabdil  was  quickly  forced  to 
disavow  the  alliance  with  Al-Zagal,  and  Ferdi- 
nand's pretext  for  the  ensuing  campaigns  was  the 
succour  of  his  vasssal.  Public  opinion,  however, 
compelled  Boabdil,  as  well  as  Al-Zagal,  to  take 
the  field  against  the  Christian  advance,  and  dur- 
ing the  turbulent  years  of  the  final  campaigns, 
that  recreant  Prince  was  constantly  forced  into  an 
attitude  of  apology,  either  with  Ferdinand  by 
way  of  explanation  of  his  opposition,  or  with 
his     subjects,     in    justification    of    the     suspicious 

127 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

half-heartedness  Indicated  by  his  continued  non- 
success. 

The  defeat  of  Al-Zagal,  and  the  successive  re- 
duction by  Christian  armies  of  Ronda,  Loja, 
Malaga,  and  of  the  entire  list  of  tributary  Moslem 
cities,  as  well  as  the  decisive  siege  of  Granada,  has 
been  told  once  for  all  by  Washington  Irving.  In 
the  final  scene,  Granada  Is  found  blockaded  by 
the  army  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella.  For  seven 
months  the  work  of  supplying  the  city  with  food 
had  become  more  and'  more  difficult.  It  was  now 
winter,  and,  instead  of  departing  as  was  ex- 
pected, the  enemy  had  actually  built  a  town  of 
bricks  and  mortar.  In  It  the  Christian  King  and 
Queen  had  set  up  a  court;  and  while  the  Grana- 
dines  were  starving  and  the  surrounding  country 
was  devastated  of  every  leaf  and  bud,  the  besieg- 
ers were  supplied  with  all  necessaries  and  many 
luxuries  by  the  Indefatigable  Isabella,  whose  able 
management  of  the  commissariat  contributed  even 
more  than  the  military  ability  of  Ferdinand  to 
the  success  of  their  joint  campaign. 

The  ceremony  of  conferring  the  honour  of 
knighthood  by  King  Ferdinand  upon  his  son,  the 
young  Infante  Juan,  then  twelve  years  of  age, 
was  a  pretty  Incident  of  the  siege.  After  the  boy 
prince  had  been  invested  with  his  new  dignity,  he, 
in  turn,  knighted  a  number  of  his  young  compan- 
ions, delighting  all  who  saw  him  with  his  childish 

128 


GRANADA 

grace  and  beauty.  Isabella,  who  at  all  times  sur- 
rounded her  royal  dignity  with  marked  personal 
splendour,  was  regally  arrayed  for  the  occasion, 
and  with  her  ladles  rendered  it  a  gala  court  func- 
tion. 

Among  the  knights  In  the  Castilian  army,  none 
was  more  gifted  or  more  universally  beloved  than 
Gonsalvo,  already  known  as  "  The  Prince  of  the 
Youth,"  but  later  to  become  "  El  Gran  Capi- 
tan."  More  than  once  he  was  employed  in  secret 
missions  to  the  unstable  Boabdil,  and  much  of 
the  final  business  of  the  capitulation  of  the  town 
was  arranged  by  him.  Another  Intrepid  spirit  was 
the  daring  cavalier,  Herman  Perez  del  Pulgar, 
who  broke  the  tedium  of  the  long  siege  by  the 
foolhardy  exploit  which  is  still  told  as  one  of  its 
most  memorable  incidents.  With  fifty  followers 
he  set  out  to  enter  Granada  and  set  fire  to  it. 
By  way  of  a  sewer,  the  daring  band  succeeded  in 
gaining  admission  to  the  city.  Meeting  no  one  in 
the  silent  streets,  they  made  their  way  to  the 
great  mosque.  There  Pulgar,  in  a  spirit  of  bra- 
vado, after  inscribing  the  words  "  Ave  Maria " 
on  a  piece  of  paper,  pinned  it  to  the  door  with  a 
dagger.  The  company  then  proceeded  to  the  Silk 
Market,  where  fagots  were  laid  to  start  a  blaze. 
At  the  last  moment  it  was  discovered  that  the 
tinder  had  been  left  at  the  mosque,  and  while 
trying   to   strike   fire  with   swords   and   flints,   they 

129 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

alarmed  the  patrol,  who  were  quickly  In  pursuit. 
The  venturesome  CastUIans  barely  escaped  with 
their  lives. 

Within  the  city,  where  hunger  was  found  to 
be  a  most  unpleasant  guest,  discontent  and  law- 
lessness threatened  first  one  and  then  another  of 
those  who  were  considered  responsible  for  the 
ruin  of  the  state.  The  nobles  and  chief  citizens, 
whose  homes  were  threatened  by  the  rabble  with 
pillage,  finally  took  refuge  In  the  Alhambra, 
where  a  council  was  held  to  decide  upon  the 
course  to  be  pursued.  One  single  voice  called  for 
death  rather  than  surrender,  but  there  was  no 
response,  and  the  one  Intrepid  Mussulman  silently 
withdrew,  took  horse,  and  was  heard  of  no  more. 
After  his  departure  Boabdil  rose  and  spoke  these 
feeble  words :  "  111  fate  has  shed  Its  baneful  in- 
fluence over  the  Kingdom,  and  has  unnerved  us 
all.  What  resource  is  left  us?  The  storm  has 
destroyed   all." 

Then  Abul  Kasim,  the  governor  of  the  city, 
was  deputed  to  visit  the  Christian  camp  and  open 
negotiations  for  surrender.  In  the  agreement  of 
capitulation  there  were  sixty-seven  articles,  all  of 
which  were  remarkably  favourable  to  the  Mos- 
lems. The  assurance  of  religious  freedom  was  so 
full  and  complete,  that  a  Christian  who  laughed 
at  a  Mussulman  could  be  punished.  With  a  wis- 
dom born   of   experience,   the   Granadlnes   endeav- 

130 


GRANADA 

oured  to  render  these  stipulations  binding  by  a 
Papal  guarantee,  but  the  commissioners  are 
thought  to  have  been  bribed  to  omit  even  that 
doubtful  warrant  from  the  papers  finally  signed. 

The  entry  of  the  Christian  army  into  Granada 
was  made  as  brilliant  and  Imposing  as  the  sig- 
nificance of  the  occasion  demanded.  This  con- 
quest completed  the  labours  of  over  seven  hun- 
dred and  fifty  years.  Once  more  Christian 
banners  might  float  over  the  entire  peninsula,  and 
the  army  which  had  accomplished  the  work  could 
afford  a  most  distinguished  celebration.  The  en- 
tire vega  was  gay  with  banners,  and  brilliant  with 
the  burnished  armour  of  hundreds  of  Christian 
knights.  Although  It  was  January,  the  sunshine 
of  happiness  warmed  every  heart  and  shone  In 
every  fac,e,  while  the  gay  strains  of  martial  music 
floated  up  to  the  towers  of  the  silent  city.  With 
a  blare  of  trumpets,  and  the  sound  of  a  tri- 
umphal march,  the  joyous  procession,  led  by  the 
King  and  Queen  In  their  most  resplendent  robes 
of  state,  swept  forward.  As  the  conquest  was 
consummated  In  the  name  of  Castile,  Isabella 
wore   her   crown   and   carried   a   sceptre. 

Although  resplendent  In  uniforms  of  many  col- 
oured silks,  with  damascened  armour  glittering 
with  jewels,  far  surpassing  the  splendour  of  the 
knights  of  Castile  and  Aragon,  It  was  yet  a  mel- 
ancholy little  band  of  horsemen  which  came  down 

131 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

to  meet  them  from  the  opening  city  gates.  When 
Boabdil  came  opposite  King  Ferdinand,  he  made 
a  movement  to  dismount  and  kiss  the  hand  of  his 
conqueror,  but  the  Spanish  King  was  generous 
enough  to  stay  him  and  receive  the  salute  upon 
his  sleeve.  The  keys  of  the  city  were  then  sur- 
rendered to  Ferdinand,  who  passed  them  into 
the  hands  of  Isabella.  She  In  turn  gave  them  to 
Prince  Juan,  who  handed  them  to  the  Cardinal- 
Archbishop,  presumably  for  his  blessing,  and  by 
him  they  were  finally  delivered  to  the  Conde  de 
Tendllla,  who  was  thus  appointed  Governor  of 
Granada. 

Up  through  the  gates  and  narrow  streets  swept 
the  triumphant  procession.  Boabdil  had  made 
his  sorrowful  exit  from  the  Alhambra  through 
the  gate  of  Slete  Suelos  (now  blocked  up),  but 
the  Christian  King  and  Queen  made  their  way 
up  to  the  chief  portal,  the  Puerta  de  Justlcla. 
There  the  celebration  of  mass  was  the  proper 
signal  for  the  working  of  the  magic  charm  of  the 
hand  and  key,  as  In  truth  It  proved,  for  the  ruin 
of  the  Moorish  palace  dates  from  that  day  and 
hour.  In  the  Plaza  de  los  Algibes  (the  Place  of 
the  Cisterns)  the  heralds  proclaimed  the  new 
authority  of  Castile,  while  the  banners  of  the 
Christian  army  were  flung  to  the  breeze  from 
every  tower,  and  the  Grand  Cardinal  raised  a 
golden  cross  from  the  topmost  pinnacle. 

132 


Puerta  de  Justicia,  Alhambra. 


»■        '»t-/lli^ 


GRANADA 

Ferdinand  and  Isabella  set  up  their  thrones  in 
the  splendid  Hall  of  Ambassadors,  but  they  did 
not  remain  long  in  Granada.  Affairs  in  the 
north  required  their  presence,  and  fortresses,  pal- 
aces, and  mosques  were  soon  turned  over  to 
monks  and  soldiers.  The  Conde  de  Tendilla  oc- 
cupied the  Alhambra  as  his  official  residence,  but 
much  of  the  enclosure  was  at  once  turned  into 
barracks  for  the  rude  Castllian  soldiery.  As  the 
inscriptions  which  formed  a  part  of  its  ornamenta- 
tion were  largely  religious,  their  effacement,  to- 
gether with  much  of  the  other  decoration,  by 
means  of  plaster  and  whitewash,  speedily  became 
an  act  of  piety,  and  the  rude  habits  of  the  north, 
still  half-barbaric,  quickly  completed  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  delicate  beauty  of  the  abode  of  the 
Moslem   kings. 

For  a  few  years  Granada  was  left  in  peace  and 
quiet  to  recover  from  the  drain  of  prolonged  war- 
fare. Under  the  mild  rule  of  Tendilla,  she  soon 
regained  a  great  degree  of  her  former  prosperity; 
and  the  liberal  influence  of  a  tolerant  archbishop, 
Talevera,  which  rendered  him  beloved  of  Moslem 
and  Christian  alike,  bade  fair  to  accomplish  the 
peaceful  union  of  the  two  peoples. 

But  no  sooner  was  the  strenuous  new  primate, 
Ximenes,  free  to  turn  his  attention  to  the  conver- 
sion of  heretics,  than  the  gentle  measures  of  Tale- 
vera were  declared  weak  and  far  too  slow.     Many 

133 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

of  the  articles  of  Granada's  capitulation  had  long 
been  violated,  but  the  tact  of  Tendilla,  and  the 
popularity  of  the  "Holy  Faquir  of  the  Chris- 
tians'* (the  name  given  Talevera  by  the  Mos- 
lems), had  prevented  an  outbreak.  Now,  how- 
ever, more  vigorous  measures,  which  were  to  test 
even  their  powers  of  intervention,  were  to  be  in- 
augurated. 

In  the  last  year  of  the  fifteenth  century 
Xlmenes  himself  came  to  Granada.  For  a  time, 
his  stern  asceticism  and  unflinching  purpose  car- 
ried all  before  him.  At  first,  bribes  were  freely 
used  by  means  of  which  the  nominal  conversion 
of  many  leading  Moslems  was  effected.  Xlmenes 
even  Invaded  the  most  distinctively  Moslem  quar- 
ter, the  Albayzln,  and  within  Its  chief  mosque,  at 
once  reconsecrated  to  Christianity,  thousands  of 
alleged  penitents  were  baptized.  Most  of  these 
converts  had  little  conception  of  the  meaning  of 
their  new  vows;  and  to  many  they  were  merely  a 
matter  of  form  by  which  it  was  hoped  to  main- 
tain peaceful  relations  with  the  government.  But 
once  they  were  taken,  new  responsibilities  were 
fixed  upon  the  unhappy  Morlscoes,  who,  upon  the 
slightest  suspicion  of  Insincerity,  were  now  amena- 
ble to  the  machinery  of  the  Inquisition.  The 
business  of  the  informer  soon  became  most  profit- 
able, and  the  imprisonment  and  burning  of  here- 
tics rapidly  grew  Into  an  every-day  occurrence. 

134 


GRANADA 

But  to  the  fervent  zeal  of  Xlmenes,  this  was 
only  the  beginning.  Arabic  literature  appeared  to 
be  a  source  of  strength  to  unconverted  Moslems. 
Absolutely  without  notice,  therefore,  a  diligent 
search  was  made  throughout  the  entire  city.  Ev- 
ery house  was  subjected  to  investigation,  and 
every  manuscript  which  could  be  found  was 
seized,  carried  to  the  Bib-al-Rambla,  and  there 
burned.  The  number  of  the  volumes  destroyed 
is  estimated  from  five  thousand  to  a  million;  it 
is  said  that  probably  half  the  latter  figure  would 
not  be  excessive.^  Doubtless  many  were  copies  of 
the  Koran,  but  there  were  also  original  treatises 
upon  scientific  and  historical  subjects,  and  transla- 
tions from  the  classics,  which  would  be  invaluable 
to-day.  The  artistic  beauty  and  worth  of  illumi- 
nated manuscripts  and  jewelled  bindings  must  also 
be  taken  into  account.  This,  added  to  their  in- 
trinsic value,  renders  the  conflagration  one  of  the 
costliest  in  history.  This  famous  auto  de  fe,  it 
must  also  be  remembered,  was  not  the  work  of 
an  unlettered  barbarian,  but  of  one  of  the  best 
known  scholars  of  his  age — one  who  at  that  very 
time  was  engaged  upon  one  of  the  most  stupen- 
dous literary  works  ever  produced  by  Spain — the 
Complutensian  Polyglot  Bible — and  who  was  also 
the  founder  of  one  of  its  most  celebrated  univer- 
sities— Alcala. 

2  Manuscript  books,  each  volume  counted  as  a  book. 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

Naturally  it  was  not  long  before  the  country- 
was  in  a  blaze  of  rebellion,  and  Ximenes,  instead 
of  adopting  conciliatory  measures,  procured  a  de- 
cree from  the  Spanish  sovereigns  whose  terms  left 
the  Moriscoes  only  a  choice  of  baptism  or  death. 
Then  the  entire  population  rose,  and  only  the 
strength  of  the  palace  in  which  the  Archbishop 
resided  saved  him  from  the  fury  of  the  mob 
which  attacked  it.  He  was  Implored  to  flee  to  the 
Alhambra,  but  the  ardent  prelate  disdained  the 
weakness  of  flight,  and  for  the  time  the  pacifica- 
tion of  the  people  was  accomplished  by  the  pop- 
ular Tendilla  and  the  well-beloved  Talevera.  The 
latter  quieted  the  most  turbulent  quarter  of  the 
Albayzin  by  appearing  in  it  attended  only  by  his 
chaplain.  His  benignant  face  and  kindly  presence 
at  once  brought  the  angry  people  to  his  feet, 
where  they  knelt  and  kissed  the  hem  of  his  gar- 
ment. Then  the  Count  of  Tendilla  appeared, 
likewise  unattended,  and  later  he  testified  to  his 
confidence  in  the  Moslems  by  leaving  his  wife  and 
son  with  them  as  hostages  during  the  negotia- 
tions for  a  peaceful  settlement  which  he  conducted 
with  the  King  and  Queen. 

Such  was  the  beginning  of  the  struggle  which 
endured  for  seventy-five  years,  which  was  only 
ended  when  its  Moslem  population  was  driven 
from  Grana*da  and  its  prosperity  permanently 
ruined.     First  among  the  striking  incidents  of  the 

136 


GRANADA 

conflict  was  the  early  return  of  the  determined 
Ximenes  to  the  scene  of  his  too  strenuous  labours. 
Although  his  stay  was  short,  and  his  measures 
more  moderate  than  before,  fifty  thousand  con- 
verts are  claimed  as  its  result.  The  brevity  of 
the  visit  was  occasioned  by  the  serious  illness  of 
the  prelate.  When  his  life  was  despaired  of  by 
the  regular  practitioners,  he  was  induced  to  apply 
for  relief  to  a  Moorish  woman  whose  skill  was  a 
mixture  of  Arab  science  with  the  uncanny  cere- 
monies of  the  witch  and  gipsy.  Under  her  treat- 
ment the  Archbishop's  recovery  was  very  rapid, 
and  so,  strangely  enough,  the  great  prelate  owed 
the  remaining  years  of  his  life  to  a  member  of 
the  race  which  had  suffered  his  most  relentless 
persecution. 

Twenty-five  years  later,  Charles  V.  paid  a  visit 
to  Granada.  Although  its  entire  population  was 
now,  under  compulsion,  nominally  Christian,  the 
Morlscoes  were  constantly  under  suspicion. 
The  chief  purpose  of  the  royal  visit,  therefore, 
was  an  investigation  of  reported  irregularities. 
The  tribunal  was  entirely  composed  of  high  digni- 
taries of  the  church,  and  the  Morlscoes  were  not 
permitted  to  be  heard  In  their  own  defence.  The 
final  result  was  the  publication  of  new  and  most 
grievous  edicts,  two  of  which  required  the  sup- 
pression of  family  names,  and  forbade  the  use 
of    warm    baths,    the    latter    a    luxury   especially 

137 


BUILDERS  OE  SPAIN 

prized  by  the  Moriscoes.  Upon  the  payment  of 
large  sums,  many  of  these  atrocious  decrees  were 
suspended  for  a  few  years,  a  fact  which  strongly 
suggests  that  the  entire  persecution  was  inspired 
by  the  emptiness  of  the  royal  purse.  At  any 
rate,  after  the  money  was  spent,  the  enforcement 
of  the  new  laws  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  officials 
of  the  Inquisition,  and  once  more  the  burning 
of  heretics  was  a  daily  occurrence  in  the  Bib-al- 
Rambla. 

In  the  final  revolt,  which  was  the  result  of  a 
renewed  persecution  under  Philip  II.,  a  secret  or- 
ganization which  spread  all  over  Andalusia  was 
effected  by  the  Moriscoes.  In  Granada  was 
found  an  Omeyad  prince  who  was  chosen  leader 
by  the  most  desperate  of  the  oppressed  people. 
In  a  house  In  the  Albayzin,  not  a  stone's  throw 
from  the  palace  of  the  Inquisition,  this  Mulay 
Mahomet  was  Invested  according  to  all  the  ancient 
ceremonies  with  the  dignity  of  the  Moslem  king- 
ship  of  Andalusia.  Already  possessing  an  un- 
savoury reputation,  Mulay  Mahomet  was  endowed 
with  no  qualifications  for  leadership  except  the 
name  he  bore,  and  a  dashing  bravery  which 
scrupled  at  nothing.  In  the  Sierras  to  the  south, 
he  was  soon  at  the  head  of  a  desperate  band 
whose  early  successes  caused  a  panic  among  the 
Christians  in  Granada.  At  first  many  took  refuge 
in    the    Alhambra;    then    gath<-ring    courage,    they 

138 


GRANADA 

rose  against  the  Moriscoes  in  the  city.  The  bet- 
ter class  of  the  latter  had  never  supported  Mulay 
Mahomet,  but,  after  Ineffectually  barricading 
themselves  In  their  houses,  many  perished  at  the 
hands    of    an    Infuriated    mob. 

The  reprisals  at  last  assumed  the  proportions  of 
a  war,  and  Philip  sent  Don  Juan  of  Austria  to 
put  an  end  to  the  disturbance.  Despite  his  able 
leadership  the  first  engagements  were  favourable 
to  the  forces  of  Mulay  Mahomet.  Then  a  tu- 
mult arose  In  Granada  with  a  demand  for  the 
absolute  expulsion  of  the  Moriscoes.  At  a  signal, 
thousands  of  Christian  soldiers  appeared  In  the 
Albayzln,  and  literally  drove  the  persecuted  people 
into  their  mosques.  From  thence,  on  the  fol- 
lowing morning,  all  the  males  between  the  ages 
of  ten  and  sixty  years,  with  hands  tied  behind 
them,  were  led  to  a  place  outside  the  walls  where 
sentence  of  banishment  was  pronounced  against 
them  and  their  kindred.  Within  a  few  days 
eleven  thousand  of  the  wealthiest  and  most  in- 
dustrious citizens  of  Granada  were  marched  out 
of  Its  gates,  while  their  property  was  parcelled 
out  among  their  persecutors. 

The  mountain  warfare  dragged  on  for  nearly 
three  years,  and  before  this  last  desperate  uprising 
was  put  down,  Mulay  Mahomet  was  succeeded 
In  command  by  his  cousin,  Al-Abu.  In  the  end 
Al-Abu    was   betrayed    by    a    traitor    in    his    own 

139 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

camp,  and  killed  in  the  struggle  which  followed 
an  attempt  to  take  him  alive.  Then  the  body  of 
this  last  Morisco  King  was  strapped  upon  the 
back  of  a  mule  and  carried  to  Granada.  There 
his  lifeless  form,  dressed  In  scarlet  and  gold, 
wearing  upon  Its  head  the  turban  of  the  caliphs, 
and  held  upright  by  a  wooden  framework,  was 
paraded  on  the  back  of  a  mule  through  throngs 
of  jeering  people,  from  the  Bib-al-Rambla  to  the 
foot  of  the  Alhambra  hill.  Then  the  dignitaries 
who  presided  over  the  ghastly  function  caused  the 
head  to  be  cut  off  and  placed  in  an  Iron  cage 
which  was  later  affixed  above  the  battlements  of 
the  gate  which  looked  across  the  vega  toward  the 
Sierras.  The  body  was  left  to  be  hacked  to 
pieces  by    children    who    finally   burned   it. 

Thus  was  closed  the  savage  persecution  of  the 
Moslems  in  Andalusia,  whose  final  struggle  had 
cost  the  Spanish  army  sixty  thousand  men.  The 
province  was  now  declared  free  of  its  Morisco 
population,  and  its  religious  unification  at 
last  accomplished;  but  its  rich  and  luxuriant  terri- 
tory was  turned  into  a  desert,  and  the  prosperity 
of  Granada  hopelessly  and  permanently  ruined. 
Moreover,  the  beauty  of  the  city  was  already 
greatly  impaired.  Everywhere  delicate  Moslem 
ornament  was  defaced  or  covered  with  whitewash; 
fountains,  for  which  the  Christians  had  little  use, 
were   broken;  mosques  were  mutilated  and  turned 

140 


GRANADA 

Into  churches;  and  the  once  clean  streets  were 
piled   with  refuse. 

With  so  much  of  disorder  during  this  early 
period  of  Christian  rule,  little  Christian  rebuild- 
ing was  possible.  Only  one  work  of  importance,  a 
new  cathedral,  was  attempted,  and  that  dragged 
along  for  over  a  hundred  years.  After  the  con- 
quest, the  chief  mosque  had  been  at  once  re- 
consecrated and  made  the  seat  of  a  bishop.  The 
first  accession  of  importance  came  to  this  mosque- 
cathedral  from  the  will  of  Isabella,  which  pro- 
vided for  a  mortuary  chapel  for  herself  and  her 
family,    to   be    erected   adjoining    it. 

The  death  of  Isabella  occurred  in  June,  1504, 
but  it  was  not  until  December  that,  after  a  long 
and  difficult  journey  from  the  north,  in  which 
almost  unparalleled  storms  were  encountered,  the 
remains  of  the  Queen  reached  Granada.  For  a 
time  they  were  deposited  in  the  Franciscan  mon- 
astery which  had  already  replaced  the  mosque 
of  the  Alhambra.  It  was  two  years  before  work 
on  the  mortuary  chapel  was  begun,  and  thirteen 
years  were  required  for  Its  completion.  Then 
the  bodies  of  both  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  were 
placed  in  its  vaults.  Even  as  originally  built, 
this  Chapel  Royal  in  the  late  Gothic  style,  was 
excessively  rich,  and  its  enlargement,  with  addi- 
tional Renaissance  decoration  by  Charles  V.,  has 
left   it    one   of   the   most   magnificent   mausoleums 

141 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

in  existence.  In  It  he  also  placed  the  tombs  of 
his  parents,  Juana  and  Philip.  Two  alabaster 
sepulchres,  exquisitely  ornamented,  stand  above 
the  vaults  in  which  the  actual  leaden  coffins  are 
placed.  One  bears  the  effigies  of  Ferdinand  and 
Isabella,  and  the  other  those  of  Juana  and  Philip. 
Both  are  screened  by  an  iron  Reja,  one  of  the 
most  superb  in  Spain,  and  face  an  altar  resplendent 
with  carved  and  gilded  marble  and  bronze. 

It  was  Charles  V.  who  undertook  the  erection 
of  the  new  cathedral  built  beside  the  old  mosque 
and  splendid  mausoleum.  This  work  was  begun 
in  1529,  and  In  the  history  of  Renaissance  build- 
ing in  Spain,  it  is  one  of  the  earliest  and  most 
important  monuments.  Beginning  with  a  ground 
plan  which  starts  out  to  be  Gothic,  certain  pecul- 
iarities were  at  once  developed  which  remain 
unique  In  this  example.  The  most  of  the  later 
work  Is  a  somewhat  feeble  attempt  to  follow  the 
Roman  style,  and  rather  meagre  results  were 
doubtless  owing  to  increasing  poverty  of  resources. 
But,  although  there  Is  much  to  be  criticised  In  the 
completed  fabric,  the  Impressiveness  of  Its  main 
lines  Is  undeniable.  The  nave,  forty  feet  in  width, 
is  flanked  by  double  aisles,  and  at  the  altar  end  the 
entire  width  of  the  church  expands  into  an  enor- 
mous apse  surmounted  by  a  superb  dome,  under 
which.  In  the  centre  of  the  great  circle,  Is  placed 
the  high  altar.     Magnificent  in  itself,  both  in  line 

142 


The  dlhambra  and  Palace  of  Charles  V . 

Birds-eye  View 


GRANADA 

and  construction,  this  soaring  apse,  as  approached 
through  the  splendid  arch  which  leads  to  it  from 
the  nave,  becomes  almost  spectacular.  The  sys- 
tem of  vaulting  ribs  in  the  curving  aisles  of  the 
choir  Is  similar  to  that  at  Toledo,  and,  if  it 
were  not  for  the  blocking  up  of  the  nave  by  the 
Coro,  the  vista  from  the  entrance  would  be  un- 
rivalled In  grandeur  of  effect. 

This  cathedral  Is  claimed  to  have  been  com- 
pleted In  1639,  but  the  old  mosque  still  served  as 
its  Sagrario  and  parish  church  until  1661,  when 
It  was  torn  down  to  be  replaced  by  the  present 
Renaissance  structure.  In  It  are  preserved  the 
tombs  of  the  gentle  Talevara,  and  of  the  valor- 
ous Pulgar,  the  latter  claimed  to  occupy  the  exact 
spot  where  the  hero  upon  the  night  of  his  famous 
exploit  so  boldly  affixed  his  defiant  "  Ave  Maria.** 

For  his  new  palace  within  the  Alhambra  en- 
closure, Charles  V.  Imported  builders  from  Italy, 
and  their  effort,  as  seen  In  the  still  unfinished 
structure,  Is  upon  the  whole  an  admirable  example 
of  the  Tuscan  Renaissance.  The  circular  court 
within  the  square  palace  Is  unique,  and  much  of 
the  detail  is  pure  and  harmonious.  But  by  the 
side  of  the  delicate  Moorish  work  with  which  It  Is 
placed  in  such  close  juxtaposition  the  carved  orna- 
mentation of  Its  facade  appears  heavy,  yet,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  Christian  Coro  erected  within 
the  mosque  at   Cordova,  It  Is  difficult  to  judge  dis- 

143 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

passionately  a  work  for  which  so  much  of  Sara- 
cenic labour  was  destroyed.  Authorities  are  not 
agreed  as  to  what  buildings  of  the  Alhambra 
occupied  the  site  of  this  palace  of  Charles  V. 
One  suggestion  of  a  winter  palace  carries  an  air 
of  probability,  but  whatever  It  was,  in  this  place 
any  work  of  Moslem  builders  must  have  been 
more  grateful  to  modern  eyes  than  this  Incongru- 
ous  example   of  modern   Italian. 

Another  portion  of  the  Moorish  palace,  the 
angle  between  the  garden  of  Daraxa  and  the 
Tower  of  Comares,  was  "modernized"  by  Charles 
V.  The  gallery  overlooking  the  Darro,  which 
connects  these  now  barren  apartments  with  the 
tower  chamber  now  known  as  the  Queen's  boudoir, 
was  likewise  the  work  of  Charles.  Both  the  gallery 
and  the  tower  command  the  most  superb  views  to 
be  seen  from  any  part  of  the  palace,  and  they 
also  form  its  most  picturesque  external  feature;  but 
in  the  interior  walls  are  covered  with  Renaissance 
ornament  now  defaced,  but  which  even  In  Its  best 
days  was  poor  and  meretricious  as  compared  with 
the  splendour  of  Saracenic  work.  In  the  room 
which  Charles  turned  into  a  chapel,  the  Incon- 
gruous misuse  of  Moorish  ornament,  with  the 
introduction  of  some  Renaissance  details,  gives 
evidence  once  more  of  the  native  barbarisms  of 
Spanish  taste. 

Elsewhere   In  Granada   and  its   immediate  vicin- 

144 


W3S   * 

Gnllerx  oJJOhiulc:  J\,  Allidmhiu. 


tliV.V-'ll- 

>    the 


>arbansms  ot 


GRANADA 

ity  may  be  found  a  number  of  monasteries, 
churches,  and  public  buildings,  some  of  which  were 
begun  during  the  early  years  of  the  reconquest, 
but  which  dragged  along  even  more  meagrely 
than  the  cathedral.  Among  them  the  sacristy  of 
the  Carthusian  convent,  three-fourths  of  a  mile 
to  the  north  of  the  town,  erected  in  the  eighteenth 
century,  is  the  most  astonishing  piece  of  Churri- 
gueresque  decoration  accomplished  in  that  most 
amazing  period.  Its  interior  is  simply  abandoned 
to  coarse  and  debased  ornament  of  coloured  mar- 
bles. As  a  curiosity,  this  interior  ranks  high,  but 
that  such  a  barbarous  concatenation  of  lines  and 
figures  could  be  conceived  and  executed,  serves  as 
but  another  illustration  of  the  extravagant  and 
fantastic  taste  of  the  people  who  produced  it. 

The  later  history  of  Granada  presents  nothing 
of  development,  and  little  of  incident.  Philip  V. 
paid  a  visit  to  It,  and  accomplished  the  further 
defacement  of  the  Alhambra.  The  soldiers  of 
Napoleon,  who  occupied  as  barracks  what  was  left 
of  the  old  palace,  almost  completed  Its  destruction; 
and  In  later  years  It  was  not  until  the  coming 
of  Isabella  II.,  In  1862,  that  the  beauty  of 
the  old  ruin  began  to  be  realized.  Since  that 
date  all  Spain  has  awakened  to  the  value  of  the 
civilization  which  religious  bigotry  expelled  from 
the  peninsula,  and  efforts  are  now  everywhere 
made    to    preserve    and    restore    its    superb    monu- 

H5 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

ments.  In  the  Alhambra  much  has  been  accom- 
plished, but  except  as  a  favourite  haunt  for  tour- 
ists, Granada  still  counts  for  little  or  nothing  in 
the  affairs  of  Spain.  With  the  expulsion  of  her 
Moslem  builders,  the  active  life  and  virile  power 
of  the  city  became  extinct. 


146 


« 


I 


Royal  Palace,  Madrid. 


Chapter  XVII 
MADRID 

THE  Puerta  del  Sol  at  Madrid  is  the 
most  fascinating  public  plaza  In  Europe. 
This,  not  from  Its  buildings,  which 
are  mediocre,  nor  from  Its  monuments,  of  which 
there  are  none;  but  from  the  varied  and  vivid 
life  which  flows  constantly  through  It.  As  with 
this  chief  plaza,  so  also  with  the  city;  there  Is 
little  to  see,  either  picturesque  or  beautiful;  there 
are  no  great  models  of  architecture;  and,  save 
only  the  canvases  of  Spain's  two  great  painters, 
little  of  artistic  value.  With  the  exception  of  a 
few  chance  glimpses,  the  historical  Interest  of 
Madrid  barely  begins  with  the  sixteenth  century. 
Yet  within  her  four  hundred  years  this  last  cap- 
ital of  Spain  has  lived  fast  and  hard.  In  each 
stirring  chapter  there  Is  the  throb  of  a  quick  vi- 
tality, and  even  to-day  Madrid  thrills  with  a  life 
that,  whatever  else  It  may  be.  Is  never  tedious  or 
slow. 

As  with  most  other  Spanish  cities  a  fabulous 
antiquity  Is  claimed  for  Madrid.  By  some,  Its 
founder  Is  said  to  have  been  a  Latin  prince,  Ogno 
Blanor,  whose  father  was  the  king  TIberIno,  but 
whose  mother  was    more    famous    for    her    knowl- 

147 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

edge  of  the  black  arts  than  for  purity  of  birth. 
It  is  also  claimed  that  Madrid  is  In  the  very  heart 
of  Europe:  for  Is  It  not  less  than  three  leagues 
from  the  little  village  of  Pinto,  called  In  Latin 
Punctum,  reckoned,  at  least  by  all  good  Spaniards, 
to  be  In  the  very  centre  of  the  continent? 

But  It  Is  not  until  the  tenth  century  that  Mad- 
rid appears  In  authentic  history.  Then  It  was 
made  a  fortified  outpost  of  Toledo,  which  It  re- 
mained until.  In  1083,  as  a  necessary  preliminary 
to  the  conquest  of  that  stronghold.  It  was  cap- 
tured by  Alfonso  VI.  From  that  date,  Madrid 
saw  her  share  of  the  troubles  which,  for  four 
hundred  years,  kept  Castile  In  a  ferment.  The 
old  Moorish  Alcazar,  overhanging  the  Manzan- 
ares,  was  rebuilt  by  Henry  IV.,  and  It  was  within 
the  granite  walls  he  erected  that  Henry  assembled 
the  nobles  of  Castile  to  swear  allegiance  to  La 
Beltraneja. 

Occasional  visits  of  the  court  might  be  noted 
during  the  reign  of  Isabella,  but  we  hear  little 
of  Madrid  until  Xlmenes  found  It  useful  during 
the  troubles  following  the  death  of  Ferdinand. 
Thither  the  Cardinal-Primate  at  once  removed  the 
young  Prince  Ferdinand,  a  rising  in  whose  favour 
was  feared.  There,  orders  from  Charles,  sent 
from  Flanders,  were  received,  calling  for  his  im- 
mediate proclamation  as  King  of  Spain.  It  was 
easy   enough  to   Issue   the   proclamation,   but  quite 

148 


MADRID 

another  matter  to  prevail  upon  the  Spaniards  to 
acknowledge  as  King  a  prince  whom  they  had 
never  seen,  a  fact  realized  by  no  one  more  fully 
than  Ximenes.  But  with  his  usual  energy,  the 
spirited  Archbishop  set  himself  to  Its  accom- 
plishment. 

All  the  nobles  and  grandees  In  the  vicinity  were 
called  together,  and  the  demands  of  their  young 
sovereign  laid  before  them.  Opposition  was  at 
once  aroused.  There  were  murmurs  against  en- 
croachments upon  their  privileges,  and  Infringe- 
ments of  the  rights  of  poor  Juana.  Allegiance 
to  her,  whether  she  were  mad  or  not,  must  come 
first!  Then  the  Primate  took  a  high  stand.  He 
informed  the  arrogant  nobles  that  they  were  not 
called  together  to  deliberate,  but  to  obey;  that 
their  King  did  not  ask  them  for  advice,  but  for 
submission.  "  This  day,"  he  added,  "  Charles 
shall  be  proclaimed  King  in  Madrid,  and  I  doubt 
not  that  the  other  cities  of  Spain  will  follow  its 
example."  Whatever  Charles  did  for  himself  jn 
later  years,  in  the  beginning  he  undoubtedly 
owed  his  Spanish  throne  to  the  vigorous  meas- 
ures of  Ximenes  at  this  time. 

His  proclamation  at  Madrid  may  have  had 
something  to  do  with  Charles'  later  fondness  for 
the  place,  but  It  is  to  its  healthfulness  that  the 
royal  favour  Is  usually  attributed.  In  the 
early  years  of  the  sixteenth  century,  when  Charles 

149 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

first  saw  It,  the  population  numbered  only  three 
thousand,  but  the  town  was  surrounded  by  forests 
which,  with  Its  elevation,  contributed,  it  was 
thought,  to  a  marked  dryness  and  salubrity.  At 
any  rate  the  Emperor  found  greater  comfort  In 
Madrid  than  elsewhere,  and  so  its  importance 
was  founded. 

For  another  fifty  years,  however,  the  court  con- 
tinued more  or  less  migratory,  but  with  the  acces- 
sion of  Philip  II.  a  more  settled  residence  be- 
came, not  only  advisable,  but  necessary.  The 
choice  of  Madrid  Is  usually  attributed  to  Philip's 
pious  regard  for  the  predilection  of  his  father. 
But  there  were  other  reasons  which  doubtless  car- 
ried much  weight.  The  great  work  of  the  unifi- 
cation of  the  nation  was  well  begun,  but  the  jeal- 
ousies of  rival  states  were  even  yet  a  source  of 
weakness.  At  this  juncture,  therefore,  the  selec- 
tion of  a  new  city  to  be  the  capital  of  Spain,  one 
quite  free  from  traditions,  must  strike  even  the 
casual  reader  as  eminently  wise. 

In  1560,  therefore,  the  straggling  Moorish  vil- 
lage was  declared  the  ''  Unica  Corte^  and  so 
Madrid  became  the  last  of  a  long  list  of  capitals 
of  Spain.  The  Sevllllans  declare — Quien  no  ha 
visto  Sevilla,  No  ha  visto  maravilla. — The  Gran- 
adlnes  claim — Quien  no  ha  visto  Granada,  No  ha 
visto  nada.  But  the  Madrlleiios  may  still  proudly 
reply — Solo  Madrid  es   Corte, 

150 


MADRID 

In  spite  of  this  vast  accession  of  importance, 
Madrid  gained  In  practically  nothing  except  size, 
until  the  reigns  of  the  Bourbon  kings.  Charles 
and  the  Philips  II.,  III.,  IV.,  took  possession  of 
the  old  Alcazar-fortress,  rebuilt  It  somewhat, 
and  added  rambling  wings;  but  their  splendid  new 
palaces  were  the  hunting  boxes  and  other  resorts 
outside  the  city,  and  of  public  buildings  within  Its 
limits  we  hear  practically  nothing.  The  need  of 
a  cathedral  In  his  new  capital  was  early  urged 
upon  Philip  II.,  who  piously  subscribed  a  large 
sum  toward  Its  foundation;  but  In  the  end  the 
vast  Escorlal  absorbed  all  his  resources,  and  for 
the  time  the  cathedral  project  had  to  be  aban- 
doned. Later  kings  possessed  far  less  of  inclina- 
tion for  the  work  as  well  as  Increasingly  scanty 
revenues;  and  it  was  not  until  1885  that  the  long- 
talked-of    cathedral  was    even    begun. 

Added  to  this  lack  of  royal  interest  In  the 
Improvement  of  the  capital  was  the  discourage- 
ment of  private  enterprise  by  Insupportable  taxa- 
tion. As  late  as  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury, the  first  stories  of  all  houses  raised  In  the 
city  belonged  to  the  King  unless  he  could  be 
bought  off.  Such  a  tax  was  absolutely  ruinous  to 
the  subject,  but  even  the  enormous  Income  It  af- 
forded was  so  far  Insufficient  for  the  needs  of  the 
crown  that  the  city  was  further  Injured  by  the 
cutting   down   of   all   the    forests  in  Its  nelghbour- 

151 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

hood.  The  result  was  the  destruction  of  what  lit- 
tle beauty  the  city  had  possessed,  and  even  worse, 
the  loss  of  the  early  healthful  and  agreeable  qual- 
ities  of   its  climate. 

It  followed,  therefore,  that,  while  Philip  II. 
exhausted  his  treasury  in  the  completion  of  the 
useless  Escorial,  and  Philip  IV.  expended  all  his 
time  and  revenues  in  surrounding  his  royal  per- 
son with  formal  and  senseless  splendour,  Madrid, 
until  the  last  century,  remained  flimsy  in  construc- 
tion, absolutely  unkempt,  and  destitute  of  de- 
fences. Toward  the  close  of  the  seventeenth 
century  Madame  d'Aulnoy  thus  describes  her  en- 
try into  Madrid:  "The  first  thing  that  I  ob- 
served was  that  the  city  was  not  enclosed  either 
by  a  wall  or  ditch.  The  gates,  as  one  may  say, 
are  only  made  fast  by  a  latch.  All  those  which 
I  have  already  seen  are  broken.  There  is  not 
any  place  of  defence,  neither  castle  nor,  in  a 
word,  anything  which  might  not  be  forced  by  the 
throwing  of  oranges  or  lemons."  "The  streets," 
she  continues,  "  are  long  and  even,  and  of  a 
good  width,  but  there  is  no  place  worse  paved; 
let  one  go  as  softly  as  possible,  yet  one  is  almost 
jumbled  and  shaken  to  pieces;  there  are  more 
ditches  and  dirty  places  than  in  any  city  in  the 
world;  the  horses  go  up  to  their  bellies,  and  the 
coaches  up  to  the  middle,  so  that  the  mud  dashes 
all  upon  you,   and  your  clothes  are  spoiled  unless 

152 


MADRID 

you  pull  up  the  glasses  or  draw  the  curtains,  and 
very  often  the  water  comes  into  the  coaches  at 
the   bottom  of  the  boots  which   are  open." 

Of  the  royal  palace  the  observing  French- 
woman writes:  "The  palace  Is  built  of  very  white 
stone,  two  pavilions  complete  the  front,  but  the 
rest  Is  not  so  regular.  Behind  It  are  two  square 
courts;  the  first  is  adorned  with  two  large  terrace 
w^alks  which  are  raised  upon  high  arches  and  are 
beautified  with  balusters  and  statues.  The  statues 
of  women  had  red  paint  on  their  cheeks  and 
shoulders.  There  is  a  large  plaza  in  front  of  the 
palace,  but  no  person  of  what  quality  soever  Is 
allowed  to  enter  the  court  In  a  coach.  After 
walking  through  five  porches,  you  come  to  a  stair- 
case which  is  extremely  large.  The  royal  apart- 
ments are  furnished  with  excellent  pictures,  admir- 
able tapestries,  and  fine  statues,  but  many  of  the 
rooms  are  quite  dark.  Some  have  no  windows 
whatever,  and  are  only  light  when  the  doors  are 
opened.  Even  those  with  windows  are  badly 
lighted,  as  the  openings  are  so  small.  This  is 
partially  to  keep  out  the  sun  and  heat,  but  also 
because  glass  is  so  very  dear.  Many  private 
houses  are  entirely  without  glass,  but  the  scarcity 
of  It  In  the  royal  palace  is  frequently  hidden  from 
without  by  the  lattices."  "The  gardens,"  she 
concludes,  "are  small  and  poor." 

This  was  the  palace  whose  gloomy  atmosphere 

153 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

chilled,  one  after  another,  the  unhappy  queens  of 
the  solemn  Hapsburg  kings.  Here  Philip  III. 
himself  Is  actually  said  to  have  died  of  the  rigid 
etiquette  spread  like  a  pall  over  the  pompous 
court.  The  official  whose  duty  It  was  to  remove 
the  brazier  of  burning  charcoal  from  the  royal 
apartment  being  out  of  town,  no  one  else  could 
with  propriety  touch  it,  consequently  the  King 
was  overheated,  and  a  fever  resulted  which  caused 
his  death. 

It  was  in  this  palace  that  Velasquez  was  lodged 
and  permitted  to  set  up  his  studio,  which  for 
years  became  the  King's  favourite  retreat.  A  pri- 
vate passage  connected  it  with  his  apart- 
ments, and  there  Philip  IV.  spent  hours  with  the 
painter  whose  genius  has  immortalized  his  reign. 
The  numberless  portraits  left  of  Philip  may  Indi- 
cate nothing  more  than  a  childish  weakness  for 
the  reproduction  of  his  own  features,  but  many 
things  give  the  Impression  of  a  real  liking  for  the 
painter  himself,  and  no  man  at  the  heavy  court 
received  higher  honours. 

The  little  palace  of  Buen  Retiro,  presented  by 
the  Duke  of  Olivares  to  Philip  IV.,  is  described 
by  Madame  d'Aulnoy  as  square,  with  four  pa- 
vilions and  four  huge  apartments.  In  the  centre 
was  a  court  In  which  were  flowers,  fountains,  and 
statues.  "The  building,"  she  observes,  "has  the 
fault   of   being   too   low.       The    rooms    are    large 

154 


MADRID 

and  adorned  with  paintings."  The  "paintings" 
were  many  of  the  most  splendid  works  of  Ve- 
lasquez, removed  thither  during  the  lifetime  of 
Philip  IV.  One  wonders,  therefore,  that  Ma- 
dame did  not  speak  further  of  them,  but  she  goes 
on  to  say:  "Everything  shines  with  gold  and 
lively  colours;  and  the  theatre,  which  is  very 
large,  Is  also  well  set  out  with  carving  and  gild- 
ing. The  boxes  arc  so  large  that  fifteen  may  sit 
without  Inconvenience;  all  have  lattice  windows, 
and  the  King's  box  is  richly  gilt.  There  is 
neither  a  gallery  nor  an  amphitheatre,  and  those 
who  do  not  occupy  boxes  sit  on  benches  or  on 
the  floor." 

The  chief  decoration  of  the  park  which  sur- 
rounded this  palace  was  the  famous  statue  of 
Philip  IV.,  executed  In  bronze  by  the  Florentine 
sculptor,  Tacca.  His  work,  now  in  the  Plaza 
Orlente,  Is  still  chiefly  remarkable  for  the  equilib- 
rium preserved,  with  so  great  a  weight  of  metal, 
in  the  rearing  horse.  The  statue  occupied  a  po- 
sition on  one  side  of  the  terrace  at  Buen  Retlro. 
The  park,  which  was  a  good  league  in  compass, 
was  diversified  by  a  canal,  and  a  square  pond, 
where  the  King  had  small  gondolas  painted  and 
gilded.  Eleswhere  were  grottos,  cataracts,  ponds, 
fountains,   trees,   meadows,   and  even  fields. 

Besides  the  glory  lent  to  Buen  Retlro  by  the 
art  of  Velasquez,   it  was  there   that   some  of  the 

155 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

comedies  of  Calderon  and  Lope  de  Vega  were 
first  performed,  but  a  large  proportion  of  the  di- 
versions of  the  improvident  court  were  puerile 
and  senselessly  extravagant.  Millions  were  squan- 
dered upon  masques  and  sham  fights  which  were 
scarcely  even  amusing,  and  whose  purpose  was 
nothing  more  than  the  passing  of  time,  the 
glorification  of  the  King,  and  the  waste  of  money. 
This  useless  expenditure,  long  considered  essential 
to  the  dignity  of  the  grandees  of  Spain,  reached 
Its  greatest  excess  during  the  reigns  of  the  later 
Hapsburg  kings.  A  French  ambassador,  whose 
ball  had  been  disgraced  by  the  fact  that  the 
champagne  came  to  an  end  before  the  entertain- 
ment was  over,  made  a  visit  of  ceremony  to  a 
famous  Spanish  duchess,  who  read  him  the  Span- 
ish opinion  of  his  thrifty  hospitality,  by  sending 
out  palls  of  the  sparkling  beverage  for  his  horses. 
Such  was  the  temper  of  the  King  and  the  court, 
while  the  country  was  plunged  deeper  and  deeper 
into   the   slough   of   bankruptcy. 

The  Prado,  or  meadow,  lying  between  the 
Buen  Retiro  and  the  city,  was  not  yet  laid  out 
into  the  fine  street  that  we  see  to-day,  but  there 
was  some  sort  of  a  drive  along  its  level  stretch, 
and  there  It  was  arranged  that  Charles  I.  of  Eng- 
land should  have  his  first  glimpse  of  the  Infanta 
Maria,  sister  of  Philip  IV.,  whom  he  had  come 
Into  Spain  to  woo.     Charles,  then  only  Prince  of 

156 


MADRID 

Wales,  was  accompanied  by  the  Duke  of  Buck- 
ingham. Their  journey,  which  had  been  made  in- 
cognito, had  been  by  way  of  Paris,  and  the  young 
Prince  doubtless  made  an  Immediate  and  disparag- 
ing comparison  of  the  blond  Maria  with  the 
more  piquant  style  of  the  Princess  Henrietta, 
daughter  of  Henry  IV.,  with  whom  he  had  already 
fallen  in  love  in  the  French  capital. 

But  the  matrimonial  negotiations  in  Madrid  were 
not  allowed  to  flag  because  of  Charles'  personal 
inclination  elsewhere.  It  was  Philip's  lack  of  in- 
terest in  the  alliance  which  finally  brought  it  to 
naught.  For  the  time,  however,  Charles  was 
given  the  position  of  an  accepted  suitor.  He  was 
lodged  in  the  Alcazar,  and  fetes  and  boar  hunts 
at  the  hunting  box  of  Pardo,  a  few  leagues  from 
Madrid,  were  arranged  to  do  him  honour.  A 
bull  fight  In  the  old  Plaza  Mayor  formed  the 
climax  of  these  festivities.  The  King  himself 
took  part  in  the  sport  of  the  arena,  and  Charles 
was  allowed  to  sit  so  near  his  aflianced  bride  that 
they  were  separated  only  by  an  iron  railing. 
This  was  considered  a  marked  concession  from 
the  rigid  rules  of  Spanish  etiquette. 

The  Plaza  Mayor  had  been  built  by  Philip 
III.,  and,  although  partially  burned  and  rebuilt 
in  1 63 1,  It  remains  to-day  one  of  the  few  his- 
toric squares  in  Madrid.  In  size  It  is  consider- 
able,   but    the    houses    which    surround    It,    whose 

157 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

fronts  are  built  over  open  arcades,  are  pretentious 
rather  than  Imposing,  and  make  little  claim  to 
architectural  merit.  But,  even  until  the  reign  of 
Isabella  II.,  this  plaza  was  the  usual  scene  of 
bull  fights  and  public  festas. 

The  essential  features  of  bull  fights  In  the  days 
of  Philip  IV.  were  similar  to  those  of  to-day,  but 
the   ceremonials  were   far  more   elaborate,  and   all 
arrangements  more  gorgeous   and   costly.     All  the 
house  fronts  on  the  Plaza  Mayor  were  arranged, 
above   the   arcades.    Into   boxes   or   balconies   with 
glass    doors.     For   royal    festas   these   boxes   were 
hired  by  the  King  or  the  city,  and   given   out  to 
dignitaries   or   officials   according   to    degree.    The 
King's    balcony    stood     out    prominently    on    one 
side.     It    was    richly    gilt,    hung    with    velvet   and 
gold    curtains,  and    had    a    canopy  over    it.     The 
balconies  of  ambassadors  were  opposite,  and  were 
distinguished  by  hangings  of   crimson  velvet  with 
the   arms  of  the  country  represented  by  each  am- 
bassador   embroidered    upon    them.     Upon    either 
side    were    placed    city   officials,    judges,    grandees, 
and  titulados,   according  to  degree,   and  all  boxes 
were   hung   with   rich   stuffs,    tapestries,   silks,    and 
velvets,  with   raised   work    in   gold.     For   all  these  i 
guests   the   King  made   a   collation,    given   in   bas- 
kets "  to  women  as  well  as  to  men."     It  consisted 
of  dried  fruits,  sweetmeats,  and  water  cooled  with 
ice,   and  there  were,   besides,   souvenir  presents  of 

158 


MADRID 

gloves,  fans,  ribbons,  pastiles,  silk  stockings,  and 
garters.  It  Is  said  that  these  feasts  often  cost 
above  one  hundred  thousand  crowns.  For  the 
rest  of  the  people,  scaffolds  were  erected  from  the 
level  of  the  pavement  up  to  the  height  of  the 
first  story  of  the  houses,  except  under  the  King's 
balcony,  which  was  left  for  his  guard. 

Upon  their  arrival,  persons  of  quality  rode  Into 
the  arena  in  coaches,  and  made  several  turns 
around,  cavaliers  saluting  the  ladies  in  the  boxes, 
who  appeared  without  mantles  or  veils,  dressed  in 
their  finest,  and  decked  with  all  their  jewels. 
The  King  made  his  entry  last.  His  coach  was 
preceded  by  five  or  six  others,  occupied  by  gen- 
tlemen and  pages  of  the  chamber.  Immediately 
in  front  of  His  Majesty's  was  a  coach  of  honour, 
empty,  and  the  royal  coach  was  surrounded  by 
footmen,  guards,  and  pages.  All  were  bare- 
headed, and  the  pages  were  in  black  and ,  without 
swords. 

When  all  the  people  were  in  their  places  the 
arena  was  watered  from  tanks  or  little  carts. 
Then,  all  things  being  ready,  the  captain  of  the 
guard  and  other  officers,  mounted  on  very  fine 
horses,  entered  at  the  head  of  the  Spanish,  Ger- 
man, and  Burgundlan  guards.  They  were  clothed 
in  yellow  velvet  or  satin,  which  was  the  livery  of 
the  King,  trimmed  with  tufted  crimson  galoon 
mixed  with  gold  and  silver.     After  marching  sev- 

159 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

eral  times  around  the  arena,  these  guards  took 
their  places  under  the  King's  balcony,  where, 
standing  close  together,  they  made  a  kind  of 
fence.  Sometimes  the  bulls  attacked  them,  yet 
they  were  not  permitted  to  draw  back  and  might 
only  present  the  points   of  their  halberds. 

The  guard  being  set,  six  alguazils,  or  door- 
keepers,^  entered  the  square,  each  holding  a  white 
rod.  They  rode  fine  horses,  harnessed  after  the 
Moorish  fashion,  and  covered  with  little  bells. 
These  alguazils  were  habited  In  white  and  wore 
plumes;  it  was  their  business  to  escort  the  knights 
who  were  to  fight  the  bulls.  As  they  were  not 
allowed  on  any  account  to  leave  the  arena,  their 
post  was  one  of  considerable  danger.  When  the 
King  was  ready,  the  alguazils  came  under  his  bal- 
cony, and  the  key  to  the  stable  where  the  bulls 
were  kept  was  tossed  to  them.  Then,  while  trum- 
pets, timbrels,  drums,  and  bagpipes  made  a  great 
noise,  the  trembling  alguazils  went  to  open  the 
doors  which  admitted  the  bulls.  As  it  was  usual 
for  the  bulls  to  look  behind  the  doors  and  kill 
the  man  stationed  there  to  close  them,  both  he  and 
the  alguazils,  who  were  not  furnished  with 
weapons  of  defence,  exercised  the  greatest  care 
and  expedition   in  getting  out  of  the  way. 

After  the  entry  of  the  bull,  the  sport  was  much 
the  same  as  it  is  to-day,  except  that  noble  cav- 
aliers   took   the   place    now    filled   by   professional 

1 60 


MADRID 

matadors,  and  that  both  the  bulls  and  the  horses 
were  of  a  better  breed.  Broken  limbs  and  even 
loss  of  life  were  the  common  results  of  all  bull 
fights,  but  were  never  allowed  to  interfere  with 
the  completion  of  the  programme,  which  was  only 
stopped  by  the   King's   order. 

Until  it  was  plundered  and  destroyed  by  the 
French,  the  old  church  of  Atocha  was  one  of 
the  chief  centres  of  fashionable  life  in  Madrid.  It 
was  a  favourite  social  rendezvous,  especially  on 
Saturday  afternoons  at  four  o'clock,  when  the 
royal  family  were  always  in  attendance,  a  custom 
still  preserved  in  the  new  church.  Atocha  was 
also   the   frequent   scene   of   historic  ceremonials. 

When  the  news  came  from  Paris  that  the  suit 
'of  the  last  degenerate  Hapsburg,  Charles  II.,  for 
Mademoiselle  d'Orleans  was  granted,  a  Te  Deum 
was  sung  in  Our  Lady  of  Atocha.  The  witless 
young  King  went  In  a  coach  of  green  oilcloth. 
Before  and  behind  him  marched  twenty  halber- 
diers clothed  In  yellow,  with  truss  breeches  like 
pages.  The  courtiers,  of  whom  there  was  a  large 
number,  followed  in  coaches.  Windows  and 
streets  were  crowded  with  people  shouting  "  Viva 
el  Rey  !     Viva  la  Reina  !  " 

In  the  evening  the  houses  were  illuminated  with 
great  wax  candles,  two  In  each  balcony,  and  two 
In  each  window.  Everywhere  were  bonfires,  and 
a    festa,    which,  Madame    d'Aulnoy    remarks,    was 

i6i 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

miscalled  a  masquerade,  was  held  In  the  palace. 
'*The  cavaliers  who  took  part  in  it,"  she  says, 
*' marched  from  the  gates  of  the  city  through 
streets  strewn  with  fresh  sand."  Each  cavalier 
had  a  great  many  footmen.  They  themselves 
were  clothed  in  black  with  coloured  tabby  sleeves 
embroidered  with  silk  and  bugles,  small  hats  but- 
toned up  with  diamonds  and  with  plumes  of 
feathers,  rich  scarfs  and  many  jewels.  Over  all 
they  wore  coats  and  great  collars.  The  footmen 
were  in  cloth  of  gold  and  silver,  and  went  by 
their   masters'    sides   with   flambeaux. 

'*  The  cavaliers  marched  four  in  rank,  each  also 
holding  a  flambeaux,  and  they  went  all  over  the 
city  attended  with  trumpets,  bagpipes,  and  flutes; 
and  when  they  came  to  the  palace,  which  was  Il- 
luminated, and  the  court  covered  with  sand,  they 
took  several  turns,  and  ran  and  pushed  against 
one  another  with  design  to  throw  each  other 
down  with  their  tricks.  Prince  Alexander  of 
Parma,  who  is  of  prodigious  bigness,  fell  down, 
and  the  fall  of  him  made  as  great  a  noise  as  the 
tumbling  down  of  a  moderately  high  hill." 

With  all  their  extravagance  and  profligacy,  the 
Madrileiios  have  always  been  a  remarkably  tem- 
perate people.  '  Drunkenness  was  considered  so 
despicable  that  a  man  once  Intoxicated  was  never 
afterwards  available  as  a  witness  In  a  court  of 
justice,  and  the  taunt  borracho,  or  drunken,  could 

162 


MADRID 

only  be  avenged  with  murder.  The  feasting 
upon  the  above  occasion,  In  which  garlics,  leeks, 
and  onions  played  so  important  a  part  that  they 
perfumed  the  air,  was,  therefore,  topped  off  by 
such  a  copious  drinking  of  His  Majesty's  health 
in  water  that  the  sarcastic  Frenchwoman  char- 
acterizes It  as  a  debauch.  The  water  supply  of 
Madrid  was  most  uncertain,  owing  to  droughts, 
yet  the  quality  of  the  water  when  plentiful  was 
extraordinarily  good  and  light,  which  may  account 
for  its  popularity   as   a   beverage. 

A  part  of  the  celebration  of  the  marriage  of 
Charles  II.  was  an  Auto  de  Fe  In  the  Plaza 
Mayor.  A  theatre  fifty  feet  long,  and  as  high 
as  the  balcony  of  the  King,  was  erected  In  the 
great  square.  On  the  right  side,  looking  from 
the  King's  balcony,  was  an  amphitheatre  of  twenty- 
five  or  thirty  steps  for  the  council  of  the  Inqui- 
sition and  other  councils.  On  the  left,  another 
amphitheatre  for  the  criminals.  In  the  middle 
were  two  cages  for  the  criminals  during  the  read- 
ing of  sentences,  and  near  them  chairs  for  the 
readers  of  judgment   and   for  the   preacher. 

The  ceremonies  began  with  a  procession  from 
St.  Mary's  Church.  A  hundred  charcoal  men  with 
pikes  and  muskets  marched  before,  because  they 
provided  the  wood  for  the  burning  of  the  con- 
demned. Next  came  the  Dominicans  carrying  a 
white  cross;  then  the  standard  of  the  Inquisition, 

163 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

which  was  carried  by  the  Duke  of  Medina  Cell, 
a  hereditary  privilege  In  that  family.  The  stand- 
ard, made  of  red  damask,  had  on  one  side  a 
naked  sword  In  a  crown  of  laurel,  and  on  the 
other  the  arms  of  Spain.  Behind  it  came  a  green 
cross  wrapped  about  with  crape,  and  after  that  a 
great  number  of  grandees  and  other  persons,  with 
black  and  white  crosses  on  black  cloaks.  This 
procession  passed  by  the  palace  and  went  to  the 
plaza  the  evening  of  the  day  before  the  burn- 
ing, and  the  people  spent  the  day  there  in  sing- 
ing psalms. 

In  the  morning  the  King  and  all  spectators 
were  In  their  places  by  seven  o'clock.  Upon  the 
right  of  the  King  was  the  Queen,  and  upon  his 
left  the  Queen-mother,  Marianne,  now,  since  the 
death  of  Don  Juan,  permitted  to  return  to  the 
court.  The  remainder  of  His  Majesty's  balcony 
was  taken  up  by  the  Queen's  ladies  of  honour. 
Other  balconies  were  reserved,  as  at  the  royal 
bull  fights,  for  ambassadors,  grandees,  and  officials, 
and  there  were  also  scaffolds  erected  for  the  peo- 
ple. At  eight,  the  procession  marched  again,  fol- 
lowed by  men  bearing  pasteboard  effigies  as  large 
as  life.  Some  represented  those  who  had  died  in 
prison.  The  bones  of  these  were  carried  In  cof- 
fins which  had  flames  painted  on  them.  Others 
depicted  those  who  had  escaped,  but  had  been 
condemned    for    contumacy.       After    these    figures 

164 


MADRID 

had  been  placed  at  the  end  of  the  theatre,  the 
sentence  was  pronounced  and  the  criminals  exe- 
cuted. 

In  1700,  the  old  Alcazar  was  given  up  to  the 
intrigues  which  surrounded  the  deathbed  of  the 
last  degenerate  Hapsburg  King,  and  with  the 
passing  of  Carlos  II.  a  new  order  of  things  was 
inaugurated  in  Madrid.  Even  the  days  of  the 
old  palace  were  numbered,  for  on  Christmas 
night,  in  1734,  it  caught  fire  and  was  burned  to 
the  ground.  By  this  time  Philip  V.  was  in  his 
dotage,  but  he  was  not  too  feeble  to  embrace  at 
once  and  with  enthusiasm,  a  project  for  a  mag- 
nificent new  palace.  Already  the  French  servants 
of  the  King  had  attempted  some  Improvements 
in  the  shabby  Spanish  capital,  but  here  was  an 
opportunity    for    something    monumental. 

The  first  design  for  the  new  palace,  produced 
by  an  Italian  architect  Imported  for  the  work, 
was  so  thoroughly  in  harmony  with  the  King's 
ambition  that  It  proved  Impracticable  and  had  to 
be  greatly  modified.  In  the  end,  although  begun 
by  Philip,  the  work  was  carried  on  by  another 
architect,  and  the  palace  was  first  occupied  by 
Charles  III.  We  are  told  that  Charles  added 
largely  to  the  last  design,  and  as  seen  to-day  the 
palace  Is  one  of  the  most  Imposing  In  Europe. 

With  this  beginning,  the  Bourbon  kings  prac- 
tically rebuilt  Madrid,  and  most  of  the  large  and 

165 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

pretentious  structures  found  in* the  SpanisH  capital 
to-day  were  left  by  them.  Like  the  vast  palace, 
the  other  buildings  of  this  period  are  mostly  in 
the  Renaissance  style;  furthermore,  as  was  to  be 
expected,  they  show  the  strong  influence  of 
French  models,  but  as  the  Spanish  imitations  are 
mostly  enfeebled  copies  of  the  heavy  period  of 
Louis  XIV.,  Madrid  presents  mostly  long  rows  of 
pretentious  stucco  houses,  with  ponderous  and 
usually  ugly  public  buildings,  whose  Spanishness 
appears  in  an  exaggeration  of  the  vastness,  the 
monotony,  or  the  heaviness  of  the  French  style. 
Of  them  all  to-day,  the  royal  palace  remains,  in 
size,  materials,  and  construction,  the  most  splen- 
did structure  in  Madrid.  In  style  and  in  some 
of  its  proportions,  it  Is  much  criticised,  but  al- 
though many  details  are  somewhat  meagre,  and  it 
is  sometimes  found  monotonous,  the  vast  pile  has 
immense  solidity,  which,  with  dignified  lines,  ren- 
ders it  stately  and  imposing. 

During  the  two  hundred  years  of  Bourbon  rule, 
Madrid  was  the  storm  centre  of  intrigues  and  re- 
bellions which  kept  Spain  in  a  ferment.  With 
few  defences,  the  Spanish  capital  was  easily  taken 
by  any  besieging  army,  but  the  sturdy  spirit  of 
Spanish  Independence  rendered  it  quite  another 
matter  to  hold  it. 

The  Archduke  Charles,  who  contested  the 
throne   with    Philip    V.,    advanced    upon    Madrid, 

i66 


MADRID 

and  even  occupied  *  it.  But  the  Madrlleiios  had 
accepted  Philip,  and  In  some  way  he  had  won 
their  loyal  devotion.  Charles,  therefore,  soon 
found  himself  compelled  to  retire. 

Again,  when  Napoleon  decoyed  the  royal  fam- 
ily of  Charles  IV.  out  of  Spain,  and  presented 
the  kingdom  to  his  brother,  the  city  was  roused 
to  a  perfect  fury.  Any  adequate  resistance  to 
the  army  of  Murat,  then  quartered  In  Madrid, 
was  Impossible.  Yet  the  people  rose  en  masse, 
shedding  rivers  of  blood  In  their  resistance  to 
foreign  rule,  and  although,  for  the  time,  the 
French  troops  were  not  dislodged,  In  the  end 
Jerome  was  also  obliged  to  withdraw.  The  date 
of  the  first  rising  against  the  French  Is  still  held 
sacred  by  patriotic  Madrllenos,  and  Its  heroism  Is 
honoured  by  a  great  monument  in  the  promenade 
of  the  Prado. 

After  the  restoration  of  Ferdinand  VII.,  the  in- 
creasing weakness  of  the  throne  kept  Madrid  In  a 
continual  ferment.  Leader  after  leader  won  ex- 
travagant popularity,  and,  latei^  sudden  disgrace. 
Few  of  the  Spanish  politicians  of  the  early  nine- 
teenth century  but  were  obliged  to  spend  some 
portion  of  their  careers  in  hiding,  and  many  lost 
their  lives. 

The  French  left  the  palace  of  Buen  Retiro  in 
ruins,  but  the  royal  palace  In  the  city  had  grown 
more    and    more    magnificent.     To-day    few    pal- 

167 


BUILDERS  OE  SPAIN 

aces  in  Europe  equal  it  In  splendour  of  furnish- 
ing. The  grand  staircase  was  rightly  famous  be- 
fore Napoleon  apostrophized  it,  for  Its  size  and 
the  stately  sweep  of  Its  lines.  The  throne  room 
is  vast  in  extent  and  resplendent  with  hangings 
of  silk  and  velvet  and  a  gorgeously  painted 
ceiling;  and  the  chapel,  which  is  classical  in  style, 
is  showily  painted  with  coarse  and  overdone  dec- 
oration. 

During  her  earlier  years  in  this  palace,  Isabella 
II.  was  as  popular  as  she  later  became  detested. 
An  attempt,  soon  after  her  marriage,  to  assas- 
sinate her,  at  the  head  of  the  great  staircase,  roused 
a  madness  of  enthusiasm  for  her.  The  Queen 
had  just  left  the  royal  chapel,  and  with  her  was 
a  nurse  carrying  her  infant  daughter.  Her  rich 
robes  well  became  her  tall  figure  and  regal  car- 
riage, but  tier  eyes  were  fastened  upon  the  face 
of  her  child,  always  the  object  of  her  strong  devo- 
tion. As  she  reached  the  staircase  a  beggar  ap- 
proached and  presented  a  petition.  The  Queen 
extended  her  hand  to  take  it  and  the  next  mo- 
ment was  staggering  from  a  dagger  thrust.  The 
wound  proved  slight,  but  when  next  the  Queen 
went  out,  the  streets  were  black  with  people 
shouting  for  joy  over  her  miraculous  escape, 
while  bells  were  rung,  bands  played,  and  special 
services  of  thanksgiving  were  held  In  the  churches. 

Only    a     few    years    later    a    messenger    from 

i68 


MADRID 

Espartero,  the  leader  of  the  faction  then  in 
power,  waited  upon  Isabella  at  the  palace.  So 
weakened  was  her  authority  that  this  emissary, 
General  Salazar,  was  the  bearer  of  a  paper  con- 
taining conditions  to  which  she  must  yield  If  she 
would  retain  her  throne.  The  most  mortifying 
of  the  stipulations  was  that  which  demanded  the 
dismissal,  without  exception,  of  all  the  members 
of  the  royal  household.  Isabella  appeared  con- 
founded by  the  contents  of  the  paper,  whereupon 
General  Salazar  broke  out  into  a  severe  denunci- 
ation of  her  private  conduct.  Isabella,  cut 
to  the  quick,  proudly  replied:  "I  have  never 
been  spoken  to  in  this  way."  Whereupon  her 
accuser  retorted:  "I  have  no  doubt  of  It.  It  is 
not  often  that  truth  has  been  spoken  in  this  pal- 
ace.'' It  was  the  beginning  of  the  end  for  Isa- 
bella, and  it  was  not  long  before  the  splendid 
palace  began  to  open  Its  doors  to  the  brief  reigns 
of  her   successors. 

The  tale  of  the  revolutions  which  kept  Madrid 
in  a  constant  turmoil  during  the  following  years 
would  fill  volumes,  but  they  produced  little  effect 
upon  the  aspect  of  the  city.  From  a  dirty 
broken-down  village,  it  had  become  a  clean,  light, 
and  well-kept  capital.  Charles  III.  had  not  only 
completed  the  magnificent  palace,  but  had  laid 
out  the  splendid  Prado.  The  street  of  Alcala 
had  been  made  a  street  of  palaces,   and  Its  junc- 

169 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

tion  with  the  Prado  marked  by  a  great  triumphal 
arch. 

All  this  and  much  more,  yet  with  all  the  vast  ex- 
tent of  many  of  its  buildings  and  a  grandiose 
effect  of  solidity,  Madrid  to-day  lacks  distinction 
and  dignity.  Like  the  seething  life  of  its  streets, 
Madrid  is  theatrical.  Its  showy  palaces  and 
public  buildings,  the  work  of  splendour-loving 
kings  who  were  only  half  Spanish,  and  Its  pri- 
vate houses  built  of  stucco,  Indicate  little  more 
than  a  love  of  superficial  display — the  last  ex- 
hausted expression  of  the  Iberic  egoism  which  has 
been  the  final  and  determining  factor  in  all  the 
history  of  the  peninsula. 


170 


Chapter  XVIII 
THE  NORTHERN  FRONTIER 

SANTIAGO,  LEON 

THE  series  of  dramatic  legends  which 
open  up  the  story  of  the  Christian 
kingdoms  of  the  North  have  provided 
Spain  with  many  of  her  most  popular  heroes. 
Accounts  are  shadowy  and  much  mixed  with  su- 
pernatural marvels,  and  there  are  historians  who 
deny  that  there  ever  was  a  Pelayo,  a  Bernardo 
del  Carpio,  or  even  a  Cid.  But  we  have  a 
right  to  claim  that  a  few,  at  least,  of  the  prodi- 
gies ascribed  to  these  early  heroes  have  some 
foundation  of  fact.  Either  Pelayo,  or  some  other 
Gothic  noble,  made  a  last  stand  against  the  Mos- 
lems at  the  cave  of  Covadonga,  and  from  that 
impregnable  position  hurled  down  upon  their  as- 
sailants great  trees  and  stones  which  turned  the 
enemy  back,  and  left  the  desperate  Visigoths  in 
possession  of  the  mountain  fastnesses  where  they 
were  to  regain  a  degree  of  their  early  virility. 
It  must  be  admitted  that  the  story  of  Bernardo 
del  Carpio  has  some  marks  of  artificiality,  but 
it  Is  also  so  thoroughly  in  harmony  with  many 
tales  which  are  accepted,  that  we  may  transcribe 
it  as  a  fair  sample  of  them  all. 

171 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

The  tale  begins  with  Alfonso  II.,  El  Casto 
(The  Chaste),  of  the  house  of  Pelayo,  who,  at 
the  close  of  the  eighth  century,  was  lord  or  king 
of  the  Asturlas.  Alfonso  was  not  only  a  celibate 
himself,  but  he  desired  his  family  to  share  the 
lonely  joys  of  his  condition.  His  sister  Xlmena, 
however,  had  other  views,  and  was  privately  mar- 
ried to  her  lover.  Count  Sancho  Diaz.  When  the 
marriage  was  discovered  by  the  King,  a  son  had 
been  born  to  the  pair.  Alfonso  promptly  Im- 
prisoned Sancho  and  Xlmena,  and  carried  off  the 
child.  For  many  years  the  unhappy  lovers  lan- 
guished in  captivity,  separately  no  doubt,  and,  it 
Is  said,  Sancho's  eyes  were  put  out;  while  the 
boy,  Bernardo,  was  brought  up  at  court,  and  soon 
came  to  be  regarded  as  his  uncle's  heir.  Indeed 
he  was  popularly  supposed  to  be  Alfonso's  son,  a 
belief  in  which  Bernardo  shared. 

Early  instructed  In  all  martial  pursuits,  in  time 
Bernardo  not  only  came  to  be  famous  for  his 
knightly  prowess,  but  was  the  chief  prop  of  the 
throne.  Then  we  come  to  one  of  the  many  ac- 
counts of  the  invasion  of  Spain  by  Charlemagne; 
and  here  we  are  told  that  Alfonso  invited  the 
Franklsh  King  into  Spain,  and  even  gave  him  a 
friendly  reception  in  the  Asturlas.  But  later, 
when  the  Franklsh  army  was  recognized  as  a 
menace  to  all  the  peninsula  and  was  driven  to  re- 
treat,  it  was   Bernardo  who   led  the  pursuit  into 

17a 


SANTIAGO,  LEON 

the  valley  of  Roncesvalles,  where,  as  a  highly 
coloured  finish  to  the  tale,  he  engaged  Roland  in 
a  hand-to-hand  combat,  and  finally  squeezed  the 
Prankish  hero  to  death  In  his  arms. 

But  whatever  the  deed,  Bernardo  is  believed  to 
have  delivered  the  Asturlas  and  the  now  ageing 
Alfonso  from  some  peril  which  had  threatened 
the  kingdom;  and  the  return  of  the  young  Prince, 
when  the  country  was  at  his  feet,  was  the  psycho- 
logical moment  for  him  to  learn,  from  an  old 
nurse,  the  secret  of  his  birth  and  the  unhappy 
condition  of  his  father.  As  we  hear  nothing  of 
Xlmena,  It  Is  to  be  supposed  that  she  had  died. 
But  Sancho  was  still  In  prison,  and  Bernardo  hotly 
demanded  his  release.  Alfonso  refused,  and  Ber- 
nardo retaliated  by  joining  the  Moslems  against 
his  uncle.  Finally,  the  old  King  was  brought  to 
terms;  but,  after  the  cessation  of  hostilities,  when 
the  reconciled  uncle  and  nephew  rode  out  to  meet 
the  delivered  Sancho,  It  was  the  lifeless  body  of 
his  father  that  Bernardo  received,  the  poor  victim 
having  been  put  to  death  by  the  order  of  the 
Implacable  Alfonso.  With  Bernardo's  return  to 
the  Moslems,  he  disappears  from  history.  If  such 
it  may  be  called. 

One  of  the  chief  historical  facts  of  importance 
during  the  reign  of  Alfonso  was  the  foundation 
of  the  shrine  and  city  of  Santiago.  Burke  points 
out  that  to  offset  the  Mecca   established  by  Abd- 

173, 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

al-Rahman  at  Cordova,  a  shrine  and  a  national 
saint  among  the  Christians  had  become  a  necessity; 
and  who  more  suitable  than  St.  James,  who,  with 
St.  Paul,  is  claimed  to  have  begun  the  conversion 
of  the  peninsula.  At  any  rate,  some  time  during 
the  early  years  of  the  ninth  century,  a  pious 
bishop  was  led  by  a  miraculous  light  into  a  wood 
in  Galicia,  not  far  from  the  coast;  and  there  he 
discovered  a  body  which,  it  was  divinely  revealed 
to  him,  was  that  of  St.  James  (Sant  lago).  The 
establishment  of  a  shrine  was  soon  accomplished, 
and  the  name,  Santiago  de  Campostella,  cele- 
brated both  its  saint  and  the  miracle  which  led  to 
its  founding. 

Following  the  marvels  connected  with  the  foun- 
dation of  the  shrine  of  St.  James  Is  the  tale  of 
the  miraculous  Christian  victory  of  Clavijo.  By 
many  historians,  not  Spanish,  the  battle  of  Clavijo 
Is  regarded  as  entirely  fictitious.  But  to  the 
mediaeval  Spaniard  fighting  against  the  Infidel, 
nothing  more  potent  could  have  been  contrived 
than  the  story  of  the  desperate  plight  of  a  Chris- 
tian army,  and  the  opportune  appearance  of  the 
Apostle  on  a  milk-white  charger,  a  flashing  sword 
In  one  hand  and  a  white  banner  bearing  a  blood- 
red  cross  In  the  other.  The  cry  with  which  the 
relnvlgorated  army  is  said  to  have  followed  the 
angelic  leader,  Santiago  y  derra  Espana,  has 
ever  since  that  day  been  the  battle  cry  of  Spain. 

174 


SANTIAGO,  LEON 

Alfonso  El  Casto  seems  to  have  held  a  sort 
of  suzerainty  over  Galicia,  and  under  his  succes- 
sors the  power  of  the  Asturias  was  gradually  ex- 
tended. Ordono  I.  conquered  Leon,  and  under 
his  son,  Alfonso  IIL,  El  Magno,  the  residence  of 
the  court  was  at  times  removed  thither  from  the 
old  and  semi-sacred  city  of  Oviedo.^  The  rule  of 
the  Asturias  now  embraced  the  most  of  north- 
western Spain,  and  Alfonso  IIL  made  hostile 
forays  against  the  Moslems,  fa,r  into  the  south. 
But,  with  the  strange  inconsistency  of  the  times, 
this  King  sent  his  sons  to  be  educated  in  the  Mos- 
lem schools  of  Cordova,  a  recognition  of  the  su- 
perior educational  advantages  of  Cordova,  as 
compared  with  those  of  the  Asturias,  which  dis- 
plays more  discrimination  than  discretion.  But 
neither  of  those  qualities  is  to  be  discovered  In 
Alfonso's  division  of  his  kingdom,  before  his 
death,  between  his  three  sons. 

Of  the  three,  Garcia  inherited  Leon,  into  which 
kingdom  the  Asturias  appears  to  have  been 
merged,  and  from  this  time  the  city  of  Leon  be- 
came Its  permanent  capital.  Fifty  years  later, 
Ordono  IIL,  of  Leon,  married  Uracca,  a  daugh- 
ter of  his  powerful  vassal,  Fernando  Gonzalez, 
Count  of  Castile.  But  Fernando  aspired  to  Inde- 
pendence,   and    In    the    ensuing    intrigues    he    was 

1  The  sacred  relics  carried  away  from  Toledo  (see  page  227,  Vol. 
I.)  were  deposited  at  Oviedo. 

175 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

guided  entirely  by  the  interests  of  Castile,  regard- 
less of  family  ties.  He  was  soon  In  correspond- 
ence with  Sancho,  a  rebellious  brother  of  his 
royal  son-in-law,  upon  which  Ordoiio  promptly  re- 
pudiated his  wife,  who  was  immediately  married 
by  Sancho. 

A  little  later  the  suspiciously  opportune 
Ueath  of  Ordoiio  allowed  Sancho  a  peaceful  ac- 
cession to  the  throne.  But  Sancho,  as  King,  ap- 
pears to  have  been  quite  as  objectionable  to  Fer- 
nando as  Ordoiio  had  been,  and  was  soon  driven 
from  his  kingdom  by  an  Intrigue  which  replaced 
him  by  another  Ordofio.  This  enforced  holiday 
gave  Sancho  the  opportunity,  as  related  In  an 
earlier  chapter,  to  visit  a  celebrated  physician  at 
Cordova,^  for  treatment  for  excessive  corpulency. 
But  his  return  at  the  head  of  a  Moslem  army, 
which  recovered  his  throne  for  him  and  sent  the 
usurping  Ordofio  to  Cordova,  resulted  in  nothing 
better  than  the  acquisition  of  another  enemy  for 
Leon,  and  Instead  of  a  duel  between  Leon  and 
Castile,  there  were  three-cornered  hostilities  In 
which  Cordova  lent  a  hand. 

The  foregoing  story  has  been  given  more  as  an 
illustration  of  what  was  constantly  happening  than 
for  Its  own  importance;  and  may  be  taken  as  an 
epitome  of  most  of  the  early  history  of  these 
northern  kingdoms.  A  hundred  years  later,  both 
Castile    on    the     east    and    Gallcia    on    the    west, 

2  See  page  13,  Vol.  II. 
176 


SANTIAGO,  LEON 

were  measurably  independent,  but  the  failure  of 
male  heirs  to  the  kings  of  Leon  left  the  succes- 
sion to  that  throne  to  Doiia  Sancha,  whose  mar- 
riage to  Ferdinand  L,  of  Castile,  united  Leon  and 
Castile.  The  union  of  the  most  of  northwestern 
Spain  under  Ferdinand  and  Sancha,  and  Ferdi- 
nand's partition  of  his  kingdom,  at  his  death,  be- 
tween three  sons  and  two  daughters,  have  already 
been  outlined,^  and,  together  with  later  events, 
will  be  found  more  in  detail  in  connection  with 
the  three  cities  which,  from  this  date,  assume  the 
most  importace  in  this  region. 


In  Santiago,  Leon,  and  Burgos,  the  capitals  of 
Galicia,  Leon,  and  Old  Castile,  may  be  seen  three 
splendid  and  historic  cathedrals.  Of  the  three, 
only  Burgos  may  be  visited  to-day  with  any  de- 
gree of  convenience  or  comfort,  and  Santiago  is 
practically   inaccessible   to   the   modern   traveller. 

But  the  pious  pilgrims  of  the  middle  ages  were 
not  so  easily  dismayed.  The  discovery,  as  already 
irelated,  of  the  sacred  relics  of  St.  James  in  the 
northwest  corner  of  Spain  soon  turned  the  faces 
of  thousands  of  devotees  toward  the  shrine  at 
once  erected,  and  to  which  the  town  built  up 
around  It  owes  its  sole  importance.  The  gifts  of 
pilgrims,  many  of  whom  were  royal,  together 
with   a   com   tax,   which   was   not   abolished   unti) 

3  See  page  119,  Vol.  I. 
177 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

1835,  soon  poured  enormous  wealth  Into  Santi- 
ago, and  from  a  group  of  huts  it  quickly  In- 
creased to  a  city  of  importance. 

Alfonso  El  Casto  is  said  to  have  built  the  first 
shrine,  doubtless  a  rude  affair,  but  under  Alfonso 
III.  a  Romanesque  basilica  was  erected  which  Is 
described  as  very  magnificent.  This  church  re- 
mained in  existence  only  a  little  more  than  a  hun- 
dred years,  being  destroyed  by  Al-Mansur,  the 
warrior  vizier  of  Cordova,  who,  in  997,  made  a 
hostile  incursion  Into  this  far-off  corner  of  Spain. 
Much  booty  was  carried  away  by  the  Moslems, 
possibly  was  the  lure  of  the  expedition,  but, 
strange  to  say,  the  shrine  itself  was  respected. 
For  it  some  temporary  shelter  must  have  been  im- 
provised which  was  made  to  serve  for  nearly  a 
hundred  years;  the  next  church,  which  is  the 
present  structure,  not  having  been  begun  until 
1082. 

It  was  under  Bishop  Gelmirez,  the  founder  of 
this  church,  that  Santiago  was  made  an  arch- 
bishopric, and  the  splendour  of  the  new  struc- 
ture was  either  the  cause  or  the  result  of  that 
honour.  It  is  a  basilica  whose  ground  plan  is  a 
cross  with  fully  developed  transepts.  As  seen  to- 
day, the  building  so  strongly  resembles  the  church 
of  St.  Sernin  at  Toulouse  as  jto  be  called  a  direct 
copy  of  it.  St.  Sernin  was  a  church  of  shrines, 
claiming  to  have  the  relics  of  as  many  as  seven 

178 


SANTIAGO,  LEON 

apostles,  among  them  a  duplicate  body  of  St. 
James.  But,  although  a  very  rich  and  Important 
church,  even  its  multiplicity  of  attractions  never 
made  It  so  popular  a  point  for  pilgrimage  as 
Santiago.  So  many  relics  may  have  entailed 
doubts  of  their  authenticity. 

The  dimensions  of  the  two  churches  differ  a 
little,  the  nave  at  Santiago  being  one  bay  shorter, 
and  the  transepts  one  bay  longer  than  the  French 
church.  Santiago,  also,  has  only  one  aisle  on 
each  side  of  the  nave,  while  St.  Sernin  has  two; 
but  the  general  style  of  the  entire  structure  and 
certain  peculiarities  are  almost  Identical,  and  must 
have  been  Intentional  from  the  beginning.  In 
both  churches  the  nave  Is  roofed  with  barrel 
vaults,  and  the  aisles  with  cross  vaults;  both  have 
the  unusual  arrangement  of  two  doors  at  each 
end  of  the  transept;  and  triforium  galleries,  evi- 
dently Intended  for  processions,  entirely  surround 
the  naves   and  transepts. 

The  heavy  round  arches  leading  into  the  aisles 
and  triforium  at  Santiago  are  plain  and  stilted; 
there  Is  no  clerestory  and,  as  a  consequence,  the 
church  Is  very  dark,  possibly  was  kept  so  to  ren- 
der the  service  more  mysteriously  impressive,  and 
the  illumination  of  the  shrine  more  effective. 
The  early  details  of  the  church  are  Romanesque, 
and  many  of  them  are  superb.  In  fact,  the  west 
portal,    rightly    called    La    Gloria,    Is    one    of    the 

179 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

most  magnificent  In  Europe.  This  portal,  as  well 
as  the  entire  structure,  has  been  admirably  studied 
and  Illustrated  by  Street,  and  nowhere  do  we  find 
a  greater  splendour  of  carving,  or  work  more  fully 
Impregnated  with  the  Spanish  spirit.  The  forms 
are  more  Byzantine  than  Romanesque,  and  more 
Spanish  than  French,  and  the  result  has  somewhat 
the  effect  of  stiff  old  brocade. 

High  roads  were  built  leading  to  Santiago 
from  both  France  and  Spain,  and  many  of  the 
kings  of  northern  Europe,  as  well  as  most  of  the 
peninsular  sovereigns,  found  their  way  thither. 
Among  these  royal  visitors,  Mariana  tells  us,  was 
Louis  VII.  (The  Young),  of  France,  whose  jour- 
ney Into  Spain,  he  further  remarks,  was  under- 
taken to  assure  himself  of  the  legitimacy  of  his 
Queen.  But,  as  Is  not  unusual,  the  garrulous  old 
historian  has  mixed  his  people  and  his  dates  a 
triflei,  and  here  he  must  have  intended  Louisi 
VIII.,  whose  Queen  was  Blanche  of  Castile. 
Moreover,  It  must  have  been  Alfonso  IX.  of 
Castile,  Instead  of  Alfonso  X.  (as  given  by  Marl- 
ana),  who,  with  his  sons,  met  the  French  King  at 
Burgos  and  escorted  him  to  Santiago. 

With  so  popular  a  shrine,  it  naturally  followed 
that  the  cathedral  and  Its  neighbourhood  became. 
In  time,  congeries  of  additions  and  buildings, 
erected  for  the  accommodation  or  exploitation  of 
pilgrims,    and    that    these    structures,    as    well    as 

1 80 


SANTIAGO,  LEON 

later  work  on  the  church  itself,  should  represent 
pretty  much  all  the  styles  which  prevailed  in 
Europe  between  the  twelfth  and  seventeenth  cen- 
turies. The  result  Is  a  medley  of  styles,  but  a 
profusion  of  details  and  treasure  whose  richness 
Is  scarcely   exceeded   In   Spain. 

Leon  Is  one  of  the  most  ancient  towns  In  Spain. 
Here  was  the  most  strongly  fortified  northern 
outpost  of  the  Romans  against  the  native  tribes 
whom  they  had  driven  Into  the  wilds  of  the  Pyre- 
nees: and  the  Impregnability  of  Roman  walls, 
which  were  twenty-five  feet  thick,  enabled  Leon 
to  withstand  the  Visigoths  until  the  reign  of  Leo- 
vlglld.  By  some  the  name  Leon  Is  said  to  have 
been  a  corruption  of  the  Roman  Legio,  by  which 
the  town  had  earlier  been  known,  but  It  seems 
far  more  probable  that  the  new  name  was  given 
in  honour  of  Its  Gothic  conqueror.  The  city  was 
highly  prized  by  later  Gothic  kings,  and  its 
fortifications  were  considered  so  valuable  that,  in 
the  general  order  for  the  dismantling  of  tributary 
cities,   the  walls  of  Leon  were  spared. 

But  in  spite  of  Gothic  leniency  and  her  stout 
walls,  Leon  offered  little  resistance  to  the  Mos- 
lem invaders,  and  for  a  few  years  the  town 
served  them,  too,  as  a  frontier  stronghold.  The 
Visigoths  made  early  and  frequent  attempts  to  re- 
gain   It,    but    they   were    obliged    to    recapture    It 

i8i 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

twice  before  they  were  able  to  hold  It,  and  Its 
permanent  reconquest  was  not  effected  until  850. 
Then  Ordono  I.  not  only  took  Leon,  but  made 
it  the  first  of  those  advanced  Christian  defences 
toward  the  south  which  finally  dotted  all  the  pla- 
teau of  Castile  and  gave  It  a  name. 

The  first  bishop's  seat  In  northern  Spain  was 
set  up  at  Leon,  but  his  cathedral  was  built  outside 
the  old  walls,  and  of  It  we  know  very  little.  We 
are  told,  however,  that  Ordoiio  built  his  palace 
within  the  town  on  the  site  of  the  present  cathe- 
dral; and,  a  little  later,  that  an  abbot  of  the 
King  converted  the  old  Roman  baths  of  the  pal- 
ace Into  a  church  with  three  naves.  This  basilica 
became  the  second  cathedral  of  Leon,  and  during 
the  next  hundred  years,  according  to  the  standard 
of  the  times.  It  was  called  very  magnificent. 

The  same  Moslem  Invasion  which  destroyed 
the  old  cathedral  at  Santiago,  left  Leon  little 
more  than  a  heap  of  ruins.  Indeed,  Al-Mansur 
is  said  to  have  ebctermlnated  Its  population.  He 
made  no  attempt,  however,  to  hold  any  of  his 
conquests,  and  the  rebuilding  of  Leon  by  the 
Christians  was  at  once  begun.  This  reconstruc- 
tion dates  from  the  close  of  the  tenth  century, 
and  within  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  Leon 
reached  the  culmination  of  Its  Importance.  We 
read  of  a  Convocation  of  Notables,  assembled  at 
Leon    in    1020,   which    effected    a   revision   of   the 

Z82 


■1 


dotted  all  the  pla- 


Alcazar  (Old  Castle),  Segovia. 


becan 


SANTIAGO,  LEON 

old  Gothic  laws.  And  In  1090,  another  Council 
authorized  the  substitution  of  the  Latin  alphabet 
for   the    old    Gothic   letters. 

But  the  most  Important  event  for  Leon  in  this 
eleventh  century,  was  the  marriage  of  her  Queen, 
Sancha,  with  Ferdinand  of  Castile,  which  united 
the  two  kingdoms.  Then  the  two  sovereigns  not 
only  conquered  the  most  of  the  neighbouring 
Christian  kingdoms,  but  Ferdinand  led  his  armies 
against  the  Moslems  as  far  as  Valencia.  Except 
intimidation  of  the  foe,  these  distant  expeditions 
served  little  purpose,  however,  and  Ferdinand's 
only  tangible  results  were  the  bones  of  the  good 
Bishop  Isidore  which,  as  already  related,  he  found 
at  Seville.  The  story  of  the  church  building 
operations  along  the  route  into  the  north,  caused 
by  the  impossibility,  after  each  night's  rest,  of 
moving  the  relics  until  a  church  had  been  prom- 
ised, has  also  been  narrated;  and  the  last  of  those 
edifices  is  found  at  Leon  where  the  sacred  bones 
found  a  final  resting  place. 

Besides  the  importance  conferred  upon  the 
splendid  Romanesque  church  of  St.  Isidore  at 
Leon  by  the  possession  of  the  saint's  bones,  the 
edifice  almost  at  once  became  the  sepulchre  of 
the  Leonese  kings.  At  one  time  the  Pantheon, 
built  In  the  cloisters,  contained  the  bones  of  eight 
generations  of  kings  and  queens;  but  they  were 
scattered  and  the  tombs  desecrated  by  French  sol- 

183 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

diers  during  the  Peninsular  War.  Like  the  cathe- 
dral at  Santiago,  the  interior  of  the  church  of 
St.  Isidore  Is  heavy,  and,  save  the  simplest  of 
mouldings  and  some  curiously  out  of  place  Sara- 
cenic cusping,  Is  quite  plain.  The  exterior,  like- 
wise, is  extremely  simple  and  solid,  and  the  little 
ornament  found  is  of  the  purest  period  of  the 
Romanesque. 

The  reception  of  the  relics  of  St.  Isidore  at 
Leon  was  signalized  by  Ferdinand's  announce- 
ment of  the  partition  of  his  kingdom  among  his 
five  children  at  his  death.  As  already  related, 
Castile  was  given  to  Sancho,  Leon  to  Alfonso, 
and  Gallcia  to  Garcia;  while  two  frontier  cities, 
Toro  and  Zamora,  were  placed  in  the  hands  of 
his  daughters,  Elvira  and  Uracca.  To  give  the 
women  of  the  family  the  task  of  holding  the  most 
exposed  posts  In  the  kingdom,  was  quite  in  keep- 
ing with  the  fatuity  of  its  division,  but  in  the 
hostilities  which  broke  out  immediately  after  the 
death  of  Ferdinand,  the  sisters  defended  their  in- 
heritances with  quite  as  much  valour  as  their 
more   pugnacious  brothers. 

Sancho  immediately  made  war  upon  Alfonso, 
and  with  Sancho  was  the  Cid.  The  war  dragged 
on  for  seven  years.  Then  it  was  agreed  that  the 
next  engagement  should  be  regarded  as  final,  and 
that  to  the  victor  the  kingdoms  of  both  should 
belong.      In    the    battle    which    followed,    Alfonso 

184 


SANTIAGO,  LEON 

won  a  decisive  triumph,  but  he  foolishly  trusted 
his  brother's  honour,  with  the  result  that  the  next 
day,  when  utterly  unprepared  to  resist,  his  unsus- 
pecting army  was  overwhelmed.  Although  Sancho 
was  only  too  eager  to  profit  by  it,  the  treachery 
has  always  been  attributed  to  the  Cid,  and  for  the 
time  its  success  was  quite  worthy  of  the  plot- 
ter. Not  only  was  the  Leonese  army  defeated, 
but  Alfonso  was  captured  and  hurried  into  a 
monastery  where  he  was  forced  to  take  orders. 

But  the  world  had  grown  somewhat  since  the 
enforced  encloistering  of  Wamba,  and  compulsory 
vows  could  no  longer  hold  a  Visigothic  king, 
especially  a  young  and  ardent  one.  Al- 
fonso's escape  and  flight  to  Toledo,  where  he 
was  made  an  honoured  guest,  have  already  been 
narrated.  Here  we  need  only  follow  the  further 
career  of  Sancho  and  the  Cid,  whose  victorious 
campaigns  speedily  reduced  Galicia  and  Toro. 
Only  Uracca,  in  her  fortress  at  Zamora,  stood  out 
against  them,  and,  while  investing  it,  Sancho  was 
treacherously  slain,  probably  at  the  instigation  of 
some  member  of  his  long-suffering  family.  Then 
Alfonso,  (1073)  as  Alfonso  VI.  of  Leon  and 
Castile,  took  possession  of  the  reunited  kingdom 
of  his  father. 

But  the  reign  of  Alfonso  VI.  was  not  to  prove 
auspicious  for  Leon,  nor  were  those  of  his  suc- 
cessors for  nearly  a  hundred  and  fifty  years.    The 

185 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

union  with  Castile  first  divided  Leon's  honours 
with  the  Castlllan  capital,  Burgos;  and  a  dozen 
years  later,  Alfonso's  conquest  of  Toledo  and  re- 
moval of  his  court  thither,  deprived  both  northern 
cities  of  much  of  their  importance.  Then  the 
death  of  Alfonso  without  male  heirs  left  the 
sovereignty  in  the  hands  of  his  daughter,  Uracca, 
who  proved  a  scourge  to  her  country  and  her 
age.  She  was  married  to  Alfonso  (El  Batalla- 
dor)  of  Aragon,  but  her  lovers  were  many,  and 
at  least  two  of  them  joined  In  the  strife  which 
harried  the  kingdom  during  her  lifetime.  In  which 
the  chief  contestants  were  Alfonso,  the  husband, 
and  Alfonso,  the  son,  of  the  faithless  Queen. 

Alfonso,  the  son  of  Uracca,  became  the  Vllth 
of  that  name  on  the  throne  of  Leon  and  Castile, 
and  his  successes  against  the  Moslems  gave  ex- 
cuse for  the  title  of  Emperor,  which  he  assumed, 
but  at  his  death  the  kingdoms  once  more  were 
divided;  Castile  being  bequeathed  to  his  son 
Sancho,  and  Leon  to  Ferdinand.  More  or  less 
of  war  was  the  result  for  another  fifty  years,  when 
another  effort  was  made  to  patch  up  a  peace  by 
the  marriage  of  Berenguela,  the  granddaughter 
of  Sancho,  to  Alfonso,  the  grandson  of  Ferdi- 
nand. The  marriage  appears  to  have  been  un- 
usually happy  until  the  Pope,  Innocent  III.,  dis- 
covered that  the  pair  were  cousins  and,  what  was 
of   more    importance,    that   they    had   neglected   to 

i86 


SANTIAGO,  LEON 

procure  a  dispensation.  The  union  was  at  once 
declared  void.  One  son,  Ferdinand,  had  already 
been  born  to  them,  and  for  six  years  the  royal 
lovers  fought  the  excommunication  and  Interdict 
which  were  the  powerful  weapons  of  the  Papacy. 
The  children  were  declared  legitimate,  yet  the 
separation  of  the  parents  was  Inexorably  de- 
manded; and  to  save  the  country  from  ruin,  Ber- 
enguela   was   finally  sent   back   to   Castile. 

As  the  young  Infante  Ferdinand  was  recog- 
nized as  his  father's  heir,  he  was  left  at  Leon. 
But  within  a  short  time  the  death  of  Berenguela's 
brother  left  her  heiress  to  the  throne  of  Castile. 
With  an  unselfishness  rare  In  those  days,  and  a 
wisdom  uncommon  at  any  time,  Berenguela  seized 
her  opportunity.  Ferdinand  was  at  once  invited 
to  pay  a  visit  to  his  mother,  and  her  abdication 
in  his  favour  quickly  followed  his  arrival.  But 
Berenguela's  nobility  and  statesmanship  were  not 
paralleled  by  like  qualities  in  her  one  time  hus- 
band, who  we  now  find  making  war  upon  the 
mother  and  son.  Even  for  those  days  this  was 
going  a  little  too  far,  and  for  very  shame  Al- 
fonso was  finally  obliged  to  desist.  During  his 
earlier  years,  therefore,  young  Ferdinand  was 
King  of  Castile;  then  at  the  death  of  his  father 
he  inherited  Leon,  when,  as  Ferdinand  III.,  he, 
for  the  last  time,  united  those  oft-divided  king- 
doms  of  northwestern  Spain. 

187 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

The  date  of  the  foundation  of  the  present 
cathedral  at  Leon,  the  third  in  the  history  of  the 
See,  is  usually  given  as  during  the  early  years  of 
the  thirteenth  century,  but  the  evidence  of  the 
fabric  itself  indicates  that  not  much  of  impor- 
tance could  have  been  accomplished  before  about 
1250.  We  may  assume,  therefore,  that  it  was 
one  of  the  works  undertaken  by  King  Ferdinand 
III.  ( 1 230-1252).  But  why  he  should  have 
placed  so  important  a  monument  at  Leon,  which 
was  more  and  more  deserted,  instead  of  in 
his  new  capital  at  Seville,*  must  remain  a  mys- 
tery. 

From  its  very  foundation  the  importance  of  this 
cathedral  is  evident,  and  no  church  in  Spain  was  so 
clearly  modelled  after  those  of  a  few  years  earlier  in 
the  He  de  France.  The  result  Is  a  very  noble 
structure,  but  here,  in  proportion  as  it  is  not  Span- 
ish, it  loses  in  interest.  As  an  example  of  exotic 
influence,  however,  one  could  not  do  better  than 
study  Leon,  and  the  student  is  at  once  reminded 
of  Reims,  whose  ground  plan  is  similar;  of 
Amiens,  the  treatment  of  whose  nave  walls  and 
chevet  is  strongly  suggested;  while  the  influence 
of  a  number  of  the  earlier  Gothic  churches  of 
France  may  be  seen  In  the  fagade;  and  the  most 
marked    feature    at    Leon,    Its    lightness,    may    be 

4  As  related  elsewhere,  it  was  Ferdinand   III.^    (St.  Ferdinand) 
■who  effected  the  reconquest  of  Cordova  and  Seville. 

188 


Cutkedr^ifjueon. 

West    Front. 


SANTIAGO,  LEON 

traced  step  by  step  with  the  similar  effort  at 
Beauvais. 

As  at  Beauvais,  so  at  Leon,  the  great  height 
of  the  nave  with  the  extreme  slenderness  of  piers 
and  vaulting  ribs,  was  at  the  expense  of  stability. 
Almost  as  soon  as  the  building  was  completed 
additional  supports  had  to  be  built  in;  and  not 
only  has  a  recent  rebuilding  of  one  arm  of  the 
transept  been  necessary,  but  much  of  the  fabric 
elsewhere  is  in  need  of  strengthening  and  restora- 
tion. But,  like  Beauvais,  the  lantern-like  effect  of 
these  walls  is  of  great  beauty,  and  when  the  win- 
dows w^ere  filled  with  superb  old  glass  (stored 
away  during  restorations),  whose  colours  are  de- 
scribed as  of  remarkable  depth  and  brilliancy, 
splendid  liquid  reds  and  vivid  greens,  the  final 
charm  was  added  to  a  glorious  edifice,  one  quite 
worthy  of  the  soaring  pride  of  the  Leonese. 

The  east  end  is  even  more  French  in  effect  than 
the  fagade,  and  here  one  is  strongly  reminded  of 
Le  Mans,  but,  as  we  shall  see  at  Barcelona, 
there  is  no  roof  visible.  The  aisles  are  less 
choked  up  with  chapels  than  those  of  most  Span- 
ish churches,  and  the  decorative  detail,  in  style, 
and  in  choice  and  arrangement  of  subject,  Is 
very  French.  The  tracery,  which  is  simple  and 
good.  Is  entirely  geometric,  but  the  great  size  of 
the  windows,  with  the  tenuity  of  the  bars, 
rendered  necessary   the  insertion   of   iron  teeth,   by 

189 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

which  alone  could  they  have  been  held  together 
even  as  long  as  this.  The  use  of  iron  In  this 
manner  Is  held  by  most  critics  of  architecture  to 
be  indefensible.  In  buildings  of  this  character 
the  stone  should  be  adequate  to  its  own 
work. 

A  third  lion  at  Leon  is  the  Plateresque  con- 
vent of  San  Marcos.  The  original  structure  on 
this  site  dates  only  a  little  later  than  the  cathe- 
dral. It  was  established  here  on  the  direct  route 
to  the  shrine  of  their  saint,  by  the  knights  of  Sant 
lago,  and  for  centuries  was  the  constant  resort  of 
pilgrims  bound  thither.  The  present  building  on 
the  old  foundation  is  of  the  sixteenth  centliry,  and 
Is  one  of  the  masterpieces  of  its  period.  With 
a  magnificent  fagade  of  splendid  stone,  and  some 
of  its  Interior  decorations  comparable  to  those 
of  the  Loggia  of  Raphael,  one  Is  again  left 
to  wonder  why  so  much  splendour  was  squan- 
dered on  so  forsaken  a  city.  But  while  the  deser- 
tion of  the  court,  and  even  the  slow  current  of 
Spanish  progress  were  leaving  Leon  high  and  dry, 
the  tide  of  pilgrims  to  Santiago  was  never  greater 
than  during  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries.* 
The  rebuilding  of  the  Convent  Hospital,  necessi- 
tated by  the  ruinous  condition  of  the  old  pile, 
was    one    of   the   many   pious   works   proposed   by 

5  In   the  single  year  of   1434,   2460  pilgrims  are  recorded   from 
England   alone. 

190 


Sx\NTIAGO,  LEON 

Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  who  made  the  first  dona- 
tion for  the  new  Convent.  It  was  not  begun, 
however,  until  the  reign  of  Charles  V.,  and  even 
then  progress  appears  to  have  been  very  slow. 
Later,  certain  changes  In  the  order  of  St.  lago 
stopped  work  altogether,  and  finally  left  the 
building  Incomplete.  But  even  the  fragment  Is 
regarded  as  one  of  the  most  beautiful  monuments 
of  the  Plateresque  style  In  Spain. 

Some  remnants  of  her  old  walls,  the  ruins 
of  a  few  really  splendid  palaces,  and  an  abun- 
dance of  local  colour,  complete  the  list  of  Leon's 
tangible  attractions.  They  are  not  many,  yet  the 
three  great  monuments  described  rank  with  the 
finest  in  Spain,  and,  with  the  memories  of  her 
early  power,  are  surely  sufficient  warrant  for  the 
arrogance  of  her  lordly  old  hidalgos.  If  the 
world  has  passed  her  by,  so  much  the  worse  for 
the  world;  for  the  lions  of  Leon  still  share  with 
the  castles  of  Castile  the  position  of  honour  on 
the  shield  of  Spain,  and  the  blood  of  her  kings 
mingles  with  that  of  most  of  the  royal  houses  of 
Europe   to-day. 


191 


Chapter  XIX 
OLD   CASTILE 

BURGOS,  SALAMANCA,   VALLADOLID 

AMONG  the  legendary  founders  of  Burgos, 
we  hear  once  more  of  Hercules  and  the 
grandsons  of  Noah,  but  In  reality  the 
city  was  not  begun  until  the  ninth  century. 
Then,  owing  to  the  fact  that  Its  situation  com- 
mands the  natural  Spanish  outlet  of  the  western 
pass  across  the  Pyrenees,  Burgos  quickly  became 
an  Important  centre.  From  the  beginning,  Burgos 
dominated  the  region,  later  developed  Into  the 
kingdom  of  Old  Castile,  but  which  was  early  trib- 
utary to  Leon.  In  950,  as  already  related,  the 
governor  of  Castile  was  Fernando  Gonzalez,  a 
leader  not  long  content  to  yield  allegiance  to  any 
petty  state,  and  under  him  was  founded  the  In- 
dependence of  Castile.  Fernando  changed  his 
title  to  Count,  which  later  became  King;  and  the 
union  of  his  descendants  with  those  of  the  kings 
of  Leon,  founded  the  royal  house,  some  branch 
of  which   has   ever   since   ruled   In   Spain. 

Scarcely  second  to  Fernando  among  the  great 
sons  of  Castile  was  that  most  martial  and  en- 
terprising figure  of  Spanish  mediaeval  life,  al- 
ready Introduced  In  the  history  of  several  different 
cities,   Rodrlgo,  or  Ruy  Diaz,  but  whose  Moslem 

192 


BURGOS,   SALAMANCA,   VALLADOLID 

title,  Said  or  Cid,  is  more  universally  recognized. 
Only  the  earlier  years  of  the  great  freebooter  be- 
long to  Burgos.  His  service  under  Sancho,  al- 
ready narrated,  was  not  the  best  of  passports  to 
the  favour  of  Sancho's  brother  and  successor,  Al- 
fonso, and  as  will  be  seen,  the  departure  of  the 
CId  from  Burgos  soon  became  expedient  If  not 
necessary.  But  the  city  Is  no  less  proud  of  him; 
and  among  her  chief  curiosities  to-day  are  some 
of  his  bones  and  the  coffer,  which,  filled  with 
sand  Instead  of  with  treasure,  as  represented  to 
certain  Jewish  money-lenders,  served  to  secure 
the  large  loan  required  for  one  of  his  campaigns. 

After  the  death  of  Sancho  at  Zamora,  Alfonso 
VI.  was  elected  to  the  sovereignty  of  Castile, 
but  as  a  necessary  preliminary  to  that,  to  Alfonso, 
most  desirable  consummation,  the  CId,  at  the  time 
the  most  powerful  noble  in  Castile,  compelled  the 
young  King,  before  an  assembly  of  peers  and  nota- 
bles at  Burgos,  to  make  public  disavowal  of  com- 
plicity In  his  brother's  murder.  For  the  time  Al- 
fonso hid  his  resentment:  he  even  gave  his  cousin, 
Ximena,  In  marriage  to  the  author  of  his  humili- 
ation. The  marriage  of  Ximena  and  the  Cid 
was  celebrated  In  the  royal  castle  up  on  the  hill, 
and  every  apparent  evidence  was  given  of  royal 
favour.  But  Alfonso  never  forgave  the  last  in- 
dignity, and  It  Is  said  that  he  finally  drove  the 
CId  from  his  dominions. 

193 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

The  remainder  of  the  story  of  the  CId  crops 
out  in  connection  with  every  city  in  the  north  of 
Spain,  and  in  many  of  those  of  the  south.  A  few 
of  the  tales  have  already  been  told,  and  many 
are  doubtless  legendary,  but  all  illustrate  the  per- 
fect impartiality  with  which  he  pledged  his  serv- 
ices wherever  his  personal  interest  dictated. 
Sometimes  he  fought  with  Christians  and  some- 
times with  Moslems,  and,  added  to  his  military 
prowess,  was  the  superlative  talent  for  Intrigue 
and  treachery  whose  early  exercise  procured  for 
him  the  enmity  of  Alfonso. 

With  so  few  of  the  cardinal  virtues,  the  great 
popularity  of  the  Cid  is  a  little  difficult  to  un- 
derstand. With  perfect  sang-froid^  he  despoiled 
and  betrayed  every  master  he  engaged  to  serve, 
yet  he  has  long  been  the  national  hero  of  Spain. 
The  largeness  of  his  schemes  and  the  plcturesque- 
ness  of  his  methods  must  always  have  made 
a  strong  appeal  to  the  popular  fancy;  and  Burke 
further  suggests  that  the  Cid's  boldness  was  al- 
ways against  arbitrary  regal  power — that  in  his 
absolute  freedom  he  was  an  early  personification 
of  democracy.  To  be  sure,  he  had  no  altruistic 
notions  of  freedom  for  other  people,  but  as  an 
apostle  of  democracy,  he  does  not  stand  alone  in 
that,  and  a  comparison  with  the  kings  of  his 
day  will  often  be  found  to  the  advantage  of  the 
Cid.     Then,   too,   he  occasionally  displayed  a  jus- 

194 


BURGOS,   SALAMANCA,   VALLADOLID 

tice  and  generosity  as  highhanded  as  his  treacher- 
ies. But,  without  doubt,  his  crowning  attraction 
has  always  been   his   universal  success. 

After  the  removal  of  the  capital  to  Toledo, 
and  by  way  of  atonement  to  Burgos  for  depriv- 
ing her  of  the  court,^  Alfonso  established  there 
an  Episcopal  See.  Ten  years  earlier  he  had 
founded  a  new  church,  which  now  became  the 
seat  of  the  Bishop,  and  for  a  hundred  and  fifty 
years  it  continued  to  serve  in  that  capacity.  The 
•  court  was  still  occasionally  in  residence  at  Burgos, 
and  the  situation  of  the  town  must  always  pre- 
serve a  degree  of  Its  Importance,  but  the  loss  of 
official  distinction  was  a  blow  from  which  it  never 
recovered. 

It  is  the  occasional  consequence  lent  by  the 
passage  of  diplomatic  embassies  Into  or  out  of 
Spain  which  furnishes  most  of  the  later  historic 
Interest  of  Burgos,  and  no  city  in  the  peninsula 
was  more  frequently  graced  by  the  wedding  fes- 
tivities which  began  or  concluded  the  ceremonials 
of  royal  nuptials.  Here  Spanish  Infantas  were 
met  by  the  proxies  through  whom  they  were  wed- 
ded to  foreign  kings,  and  by  whom  they  were 
escorted  to  their  new  kingdoms;  and  here  many 
queens    of    Spain    first    saw    their    royal    husbands. 

1  This  jealousy  continued  until  the  fourteenth  century,  when 
Alfonso  XI.  attempted  to  lessen  it  by  permitting  Burgos  to  speak 
first  in  the  Castilian  Cortes,  saying  that  he  himself  would  speak 
for  Toledo. 

195 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

Something  over  a  hundred  years  after  the 
founding  of  her  first  cathedral,  Alfonso  VIII. 
came  to  Burgos  to  welcome  his  bride,  Eleanor 
Plantagenet,  one  of  the  noblest  queens  ever 
brought  Into  Spain.  The  internal  peace  of  the 
kingdom  during  her  lifetime,  as  well  as  the  noble 
qualities  of  her  daughter,  the  heroic  Berenguela, 
are   largely   ascribed  to   Eleanor. 

Ten  years  after  their  marriage.  King  Alfonsq 
and  Queen  Eleanor  came  to  Burgos  to  found  a 
monastery  In  her  honour,  and  If  we  may  judge 
by  results,  the  Queen  had  In  her  employ  an  Eng- 
lish architect.  The  site  chosen  was  the  garden  of 
an  earlier  villa,  just  outside  the  city,  whose  name, 
Las  Huelgas,  meaning  rest,  was  continued  for  the 
convent. 

From  the  foundation,  the  privileges  and  emol- 
uments of  this  convent  were  very  great,  and 
in  time  It  came  to  be  one  of  the  most  Important 
in  Spain.  The  Inmates  were  all  of  noble  birth, 
none  other  being  admitted,  and  many  of  the  Ab- 
besses were  royal.  Three  hundred  towns  and  vil- 
lagers acknowledged  the  authority  of  these  Ab- 
besses, whose  dignity  was  second  only  to  that  of 
the  Queen,  and  we  are  told  that  the  rental  of  the 
estates  belonging  to  Las  Huelgas  often  exceeded 
that  of  the  estates  of  the  crown. 

As  the  nuns  are  still  very  strictly  enclolstered,  it 
Is  Impossible  to-day  to  see  much  of  the  buildings. 

196 


BURGOS,   SALAMANCA,   VALLADOLID 

Glimpses  may  be  had  through  gratings  and  over 
walls  of  the  early  work  of  the  English  Queen, 
and  one  is  admitted  to  the  church,  which  was 
erected  by  Eleanor's  grandson,  St.  Ferdinand,  but 
for  the  rest  one  must  depend  upon  descriptions. 
Both  the  glimpses  and  descriptions  indicate  the 
very  striking  English  character  of  the  work,  but 
interesting  as  they  are,  the  historical  associations 
of  Las   Huelgas  are  even  greater. 

Almost  at  once  this  convent  became  the  place 
of  burial  of  the  kings  and  queens  of  Castile,  and 
the  tombs  of  many  of  them  are  still  to  be  found 
in  the  Chapel  Royal.  In  the  choir  Is  the  famous 
banner  carried  by  Alfonso  VIIL  at  the  battle  of 
Tolosa,  and  more  curious,  though  less  thrilling, 
is  the  old  statue  of  Sant  lago  In  the  chapel  of 
that  saint.  The  arms  are  provided  with  springs, 
so  arranged  as  to  give  the  accolade  to  candidates 
for  knighthood  in  that  order:  thus,  we  are  told, 
was  avoided  the  reception  of  the  dignity  from  a 
mere  man.  As  the  possession  of  this  statue  in- 
dicates. Las  Huelgas  was  the  place  most  fre- 
quently chosen  for  such  ceremonies,  and  most  of 
the  Christian  kings  of  Spain,  as  well  as  not  a 
few  from  elsewhere,  after  spending  the  night  be- 
fore the  altar  In  vigil  over  their  arms,  were 
knighted  here.  The  convent  also  furnished  a  most 
convenient  place  outside  the  walls  of  Burgos  for 
the  reception  of  royal  brides.     There  a  necessary 

197 


\ 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

rest  might  be  had,  and  the  splendid  toilet  for  the 
royal    entry    Into    the    city    could    be    made. 

Queen  Berenguela  found  a  wife  for  her  son, 
King  Ferdinand,  in  Princess  Beatrice  of  Suabia, 
and  in  1221  (12 19  is  also  given)  the  ceremo- 
nies of  her  reception  and  espousal  were  celebrated 
at  Burgos.  Among  the  preliminaries  was  the 
knighting  of  the  young  King  at  Las  Huelgas; 
and  in  this  connection  it  is  interesting  to  record 
a  similar  ceremony  forty  years  later,  when  the 
candidate  for  knighthood  was  Edward  I.,  of 
England,  and  the  royal  bride  who  awaited  him  in 
the  old  castle  up  on  the  hill  was  the  lovely 
Eleanor  of  Castile,  daughter  of  Ferdinand,  and 
great-granddaughter  of    Eleanor    Plantagenet. 

But  among  the  shows  of  the  earlier  wedding 
was  one  of  more  importance  to  Burgos  than  the 
knighting  of  Berenguela's  son,  namely,  the  foun- 
dation of  a  new  cathedral  in  honour  of  the  new 
Queen.  The  new  church  appears  to  have  replaced 
the  older  one  of  Alfonso,  and  at  the  laying  of  the 
corner-stone  we  first  hear  of  the  Bishop,  Maurice 
by  name,  who.  It  has  long  been  thought,  was 
an  Englishman  in  the  service  of  Queen  Beatrice, 
and  first  brought  into  Spain  in  her  train. 

Recent  authorities  claim,  however,  that  Bishop 
Maurice  was  a  Spaniard  who  had  been  sent  by 
the  King  into  Germany  to  arrange  the  marriage 
and  escort   the  bride   into   Spain.     The   mission   is 

198 


could 


rice    0 


eiebrate; 


Cathciirdl,  Burgos. 

West  rront. 


ot    ttie 


>^ 


BURGOS,   SALAMANCA,   VALLADOLID 

said  to  have  occupied  two  years,  a  period  In 
which  the  ardour  of  the  royal  bridegroom  might 
have  been  expected  to  cool  somewhat;  but,  If  we 
may  judge  from  his  later  work,  the  Bishop  If 
Spanish,  not  only  took  an  English  name,  but 
travelled  rather  extensively  on  the   continent. 

The  general  plan  of  the  cathedral,  and  many 
of  Its  details,  are  attributed  to  Bishop  Maurice, 
and  his  tomb  Is  to-day  the  most  Imposing  monu- 
ment In  the  heart  of  the  great  structure.  But  al- 
though the  substratum  of  the  church,  and  Its  gen- 
eral character,  are  doubtless  the  work  of  Bishop 
Maurice,  It  will  readily  be  admitted  that,  even 
without  him,  the  cathedral  at  Burgos  must  have 
been  largely  Influenced  by  Northern  styles.  If  not 
Bishop  Maurice,  then,  as  at  Leon,  some  other  builder 
would  doubtless  have  laid  Its  foundations  after 
the  fashion  of  the  Northern  Gothic.  The  grow- 
ing Isolation  of  Leon  has  left  her  cathedral  a  fairly 
pure  example  of  an  early  period;  but  at  Bur- 
gos, the  continued  Importance  of  the  town,  and 
especially  the  character  of  that  Importance — that 
of  a  stopping  place  for  travellers  crossing  the 
Pyrenees — has  resulted  In  many  additions  to  the 
original  structure,  and  these,  with  much  overlay 
of  ornament,  represent  pretty  much  all  the  later 
styles,  not  only  of  northern  Europe,  but  of  Spain. 

The  early  church  designed  by  Bishop  Maurice 
was  a  simple  cruciform  structure  of  moderate  size. 

199 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

But  to  this  have  been  added  a  great  number  of 
chapels  and  a  two-story  cloister,  with  the  result 
that  the  ground  plan  of  the  pile  to-day  is  the 
most  elaborate  and  confusing  in  Spain.  The 
chapels  are  of  different  dates  and  styles,  and  early 
walls  have  been  much  rebuilt  and  redecorated. 
Then,  In  1539,  the  original  crossing  fell,  and  the 
present  lantern  is  the  work  of  the  thirty  years 
following  that  catastrophe.  The  spires  are  about 
a  century  earlier  than  the  lantern,  but  the  present 
west  portals  are  of  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, when  all  the  old  Gothic  work  was  removed 
and  a  few  meagre  classic  details  introduced  as  a 
beginning  toward  a  remodelling  of  the  entire 
fagade. 

The  location  of  the  cathedral  renders  almost 
impossible  any  satisfactory  view  of  it.  It  Is  set 
Into  the  side  of  a  hill  so  steep  that  entrance  to 
the  south  transept  Is  only  attained  after  ascending 
a  long  flight  of  steps,  and  the  north  transept  por- 
tal has  a  stairway  of  about  equal  length  inside 
the  church  by  which  the  ground  on  the  other 
side  is  reached.  Furthermore,  the  hillside  is  so 
built  up  as  to  prohibit  any  distant  view  except 
over  the  tops  of  houses.  From  the  street  on  the 
north,  however,  one  may  get  a  close  view  of  the 
spires   and   lantern. 

These  features,  which  are  similar  In  style,  are 
extremely    picturesque,    but    they    are    really    more 

200 


BURGOS,  SALAMANCA,   VALLADOLID 

effective  seen  from  a  distance.  Observed  too  close 
at  hand,  the  decorative  forms,  which  reach  the 
extreme  of  elaboration,  are  somewhat  coarse. 
Those  of  the  towers,  especially,  are  inclined  to  be 
thick  and  blunted.  Yet,  in  spite  of  its  heaviness, 
all  the  openwork  of  these  spires  is  supported  by 
iron.  The  general  form  of  the  towers  and  spires 
is  likewise  much  to  be  criticised.  The  proportions 
are  not  good,  too  much  of  their  height  being 
given  to  the  towers  and  too  little  to  the  spires, 
and  the  juncture  of  the  two  parts  is  clumsy.  The 
perfect  arrangement  is  found  in  the  south  spire 
at  Chartres,-  a  comparison  with  which  reveals  at 
once  the  faults  at  Burgos.  Here  the  balustrade 
at  the  top  of  the  towers  serves  to  separate,  rather 
than  unite,  the  two  features,  and  the  lines  of  the 
spires  are  hopelessly  ruined  by  the  open  galleries 
so  near  the  top,  and  the  blunt  finials.  The  lan- 
tern at  the  crossing  is  somewhat  more  refined,  but 
all  this  work  shows  the  over-elaboration  of  an  in- 
ferior age.  The  most  beautiful  exterior  feature 
of  the  church  to-day  is  the  portal,  called  De  la 
Pellegria,  at  the  east  angle  of  the  north  transept. 
There  are  few  more  elegant  examples  of  the 
Plateresque  period  in  Spain,  and  its  delicate  pur- 
ity is  in  refreshing  contrast,  both  to  the  opulence 
above   and   the  meagreness   of  the  west  portals. 

2  See  "French  Cathedrals  and   Chateaux,"  by  the   author  of  the 
present  work. 

201 


BUILDERS  OE  SPAIN 

In  the  interior,  the  purity  of  early  lines  and 
simplicity  of  early  work  is  everywhere  overlaid 
with  late  Gothic,  Plateresque,  or  Churrigueresque 
ornament.  The  result  is  extremely  rich,  but  the 
effect,  except  in  the  fundamental  lines  of  the 
building,  is  scarcely  Gothic.  The  tracery  In  the 
triforium  is  mostly  early  and  simple  Gothic, 
merely  foliated  circles  cut  in  the  tympanums,  but 
the  great  piers  which  support  the  lantern  are  cov- 
ered with  a  relief  of  Plateresque  designs,  and  the 
interior  of  the  lantern  itself,  which  is  finished  at 
the  top  with  a  star,  is  quite  as  elaborately  deco- 
rated, with  both  late  Gothic  and  Plateresque  de- 
signs, as  Its  exterior.  The  work  on  the  great 
piers  is  very  lovely,  but  it  is  strangely  out  of 
character  with  the  massiveness  of  effect  required, 
and  usually  found,  at  this  point  In  Gothic 
churches. 

Of  the  many  chapels,  that  of  the  Constable 
Velasco  and  his  wife  is  the  most  important.  It 
was  erected  at  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century, 
and  Is  said  to  be  the  work  of  a  German  architect. 
In  the  decoration  of  this  chapel,  as  was  pointed 
out  In  the  beginning  of  this  book,  the  Timit  of 
elaboration  in  Gothic  architectural  carving  was 
reached.  One  must  marvel  at  the  skill  which  could 
cut  lines  so  slender  in  brittle  stone,  but  such 
extreme  tenuity  must  always  be  condemned  as  out 
of    character    In   llthic   work.    The    enormous   he- 

20Z 


Ciitliedtal,  Biitgu: 

View  across  Transept. 


BURGOS,   SALAMANCA,   VALLADOLID 

raldic  shields  on  the  walls  are  partially  supported 
by  figures  of  men  whose  lower  limbs  are  those 
of  goats.  These  composite  stone  creatures  are 
frequently  found  In  the  north  of  Spain,  but  be- 
yond the  name — wild  men — we  failed  to  find 
any    explanation    of    their   meaning. 

The  choir  stalls  are  of  the  Renaissance  period 
and  richly  carved,  but  elsewhere  in  the  Coro  and 
Capllla  Mayor  there  Is  little  to  demand  especial 
attention.  At  the  back  of  the  high  altar  Is  one 
of  the  worst  fricassees  of  marble,  In  a  general 
mixture  of  late  Gothic,  Plateresque,  and  Chur- 
rigueresque  styles,  to  be  found  even  In  Spain.  The 
cloisters,  however,  are  a  joy.  The  upper  story 
is  quite  plain,  and  even  the  lower  walk  has  the 
effect  of  simplicity;  but  all  the  lines  are  lovely, 
and  the  carved  leaf  mouldings  which  decorate 
the  wall  arches,  no  two  of  them  alike,  have 
the  purity  and  simplicity  of  the  best  Gothic 
period. 

Of  a  little  later  date  than  the  cathedral,  and 
showing  very  clearly  Its  Influence,  are  the  parish 
churches  of  St.  Nicholas,  St.  Estaban,  and  San 
Gil.  Each  has  some  especial  feature  of  note:  St. 
Nicholas,  an  enormous  and  marvellously  carved 
Retablo;  St.  Estaban,  a  fine  late  Gothic  gallery; 
and  San  Gil,  a  curious  and  Interesting  old  pul- 
pit. The  latter  Is  of  Iron,  the  traceries  cut  out 
of  two  plates  and  laid  one  over  the  other.    The 

203 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

work  was  then  gilded,  and  the  result  is  extremely 
good. 

The  old  castle  of  the  counts  of  Castile  crowned 
the  hill  which  still  dominates  the  town.  It  was 
primarily  a  fortress,  but  In  the  course  of  time  it 
became  a  very  magnificent  palace  as  well.  Begin- 
ning with  Queen  Beatrice,  It  sheltered  all  the  royal 
brides  who  passed  this  way.  Here  also,  Pedro 
the  Cruel  was  born,  and  during  the  struggle, 
which  centred  in  this  region,  with  his  brother, 
Henry  of  Trastemara,  Pedro  several  times  occu- 
pied Burgos  with  his  army,  when  the  old  citadel 
served  as  his  headquarters.  Henry  had  secured 
the  alliance  of  France  (where  Pedro's  treatment 
of  his  Queen,  Blanche  of  Bourbon,  was  bitterly, 
resented),  and  Aragon,  which  was  generally  ready 
to  take  up  arms  against  Castile.  But  with  Pedro 
w^as  an  English  army  under  Edward  the  Black 
Prince.  The  brilliant  services  of  the  English 
Prince  finally  won  for  Pedro  what  appeared  to 
be  a  decisive  victory,  after  which  the  allied  armies 
fell  back  upon  Burgos.  But  with  the  Castillan 
army  Inside  the  walls,  and  the  English  allies  en- 
camped outside,  Pedro  found  It  convenient  to  for- 
get all  the  promises,  made  to  Edward,  of  humane 
treatment  for  his  prisoners;  he  even  failed  to 
pay  any  part  of  the  money  earlier  promised 
for  English  succour.  Edward  remonstrated  In 
vain,    and   Pedro   finally   fled   to   Seville,    abandon- 

204 


BURGOS,   SALAMANCA,   VALLADOLID 

ing  his  allies  to  die  of  hunger  or  disease,  or  to 
find  their  way  as  best  they  could  across  the 
Pyrenees. 

It  must  be  a  matter  of  some  surprise  that 
when  Queen  Isabella  erected  tombs  for  her  parents 
and  brother  at  Burgos,  she  chose  another  mon- 
astery than  Las  Huelgas.  This  convent,  the 
Cartuja  de  Mirailores,  two  miles  the  other  side 
of  Burgos  from  Las  Huelgas,  was  originally  a  pal- 
ace of  Henry  III.  It  was  given  to  the  Carthusians 
by  Juan  II.  (the  father  of  Queen  Isabella).  Then  it 
was  destroyed  by  fire  and  its  rebuilding  was  begun  by 
Henry  IV.  Nowhere,  however,  do  we  find  indica- 
tion of  anything  like  the  importance  of  the  earlier 
sepulchre  of  Castillan  kings,  and  to-day,  except 
for  one  overdone  altarplece.  It  Is  the  most  barren 
of  monasteries.  But  the  tombs  are  among  the 
richest  in  the  world.  That  of  King  Juan  and 
Queen  Isabella  is  In  the  form  of  a  star,  with  re- 
cumbent figures  of  the  pair.  That  of  the  young 
Prince,  Alfonso,  whose  death  gave  the  throne  to 
Isabella,  is  a  wall  panel  with  a  kneeling  figure  of 
the  Prince  In  a  niche.  Both  tombs  are  evidently 
of  the  same-  period  ao  the  Chapel  of  the  Con- 
stable, possibly  were  the  work  of  the  same  hand. 
Of  the  latest  Gothic,  the  lace-like  character  of 
the  carving  Is  even  more  extreme  than  that  of 
the  chapel.  But  In  small  monuments  of  this  kind, 
delicacy  is  more   admissible  than   in   more   dlstlnc- 

205 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

tlvely  architectural  ornament,  and  if  lavish  la- 
bour were  ever  Its  own  justification,  It  Is  found 
in  the  frost-like  tracery  of  the  tomb   of  Alfonso. 

The  old  fifteenth-century  gateway  of  Burgos, 
the  Puerta  Sta.  Maria,  was  largely  rebuilt  in  the 
Italian  style  by  Charles  V.  Prominent  In  its  deco- 
rations are  figures  of  Fernando  Gonzalez  and  the 
Cid.  Among  the  old  houses,  none  have  a 
greater  Interest  than  the  sixteenth-century  palace 
of  the  Constable  Velasco.  From  the  rope  or  cor- 
don which  surrounds  the  main  portal,  this  house 
Is  now  called  the  Casa  del  Cordon.  The  afore- 
said rope  is  curiously  coiled  in  places  Into  spirals, 
and  forms  a  most  remarkable  architectural  deco- 
ration. Its  use  here,  however,  is  heraldic.  The 
rope  Itself  is  the  cordon  of  a  Teutonic  order  in- 
herited by  some  member  of  the  noble  house  of 
the  Constable,  and  over  the  portal  it  encloses  the 
arms  of  the  families  of  Mendoza,  Velasco,  and 
Figura,  together  with  those  of  the  kings  of  Cas- 
tile, with  all  of  whom  the  house  of  the  Constable 
Velasco  had   Inter-married. 

One  of  the  most  unfortunate  of  the  royal 
brides  who  came  to  the  old  castle  up  on  the  hill 
was  Marguerite  of  Austria,  who  came  into  Spain 
to  wed  Prince  Juan,  the  well-beloved  son  of  Fer- 
dinand and  Isabella.  This  princess  had  earlier  been 
betrothed  to  Charles  VIII.,  of  France,  but  after 
eight    years    spent    at    Amboise,     on    the    Loire, 

ao6 


Chapel  of  the.  Constable. 

Cathedral  Burgos. 


BURGOS,   SALAMANCA,   VALLADOLID 

Charles  found  another  alliance  more  to  his  mind, 
and  she  was  sent  back  to  her  father,  Maximilian. 
The  Spanish  marriage  promised  more  of  happi- 
ness, as  well  as  greater  honour,  for  young  Juan 
was  a  Prince  of  great  personal  charm,  besides 
being  probably  the  best  match  in  Europe.  But 
his  death  within  a  year,  followed  almost  Imme- 
diately by  that  of  her  Infant  son,  must  have 
filled  to  the  brim  Marguerite's  cup  of  bitterness. 
The  death  of  Prince  Juan  was  the  first  great  sorrow 
of  Queen  Isabella,  as  well  as  the  source  of  many 
of  the  later  complications  In  the  Spanish  succes- 
sion. 

In  1506,  Philip  I.  and  the  melancholy  Juana 
were  staying  in  this  old  castle.  A  splendid  ban- 
quet was  prepared  for  the  gratification  of  the 
Prince,  whose  temper  always  seemed  to  stand  in 
need  of  placatlon.  But  after  the  feast  the  young 
King  was  taken  violently  111,  and  his  death  within 
a  few  days  deprived  poor  Juana  of  the  last  of 
her  feeble  wits.  Over-indulgence  or  over-exercise 
were  given  as  the  probable  causes  of  Philip's 
death,  but  there  were  not  wanting  whispered  sug- 
gestions of  poison. 

Juana  bore  her  loss  with  the  stony  immobility 
which  she  never  afterwards  entirely  lost.  She 
had  the  body  removed  at  once  to  the  great  hall 
of  the  Constable's  palace,  where  for  one  night  It 
was  enthroned  with  great  magnificence  on   a   cata- 

2Q7 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

falque  of  cloth  of  gold,  with  robes  of  rich  bro- 
cades and  ermine.  The  head  was  covered  with  a 
splendid  jewelled  cap,  and  on  the  breast  blazed  a 
magnificent  cross.  In  the  morning  the  body  was 
stripped  of  Its  finery,  and  after  embalming,  was 
placed  In  the  leaden  casket,  from  which,  for  the 
remainder  of  her  life,  Juana  never  willingly 
parted.  For  a  time,  an  attempt  was  made  to 
separate  her  from  It  by  taking  It  to  MIraflores, 
but  Juana,  distraught  with  fear  of  losing  her 
dead,  one  day  demanded  that  the  casket  be 
broken  open.  Then  stripping  the  cere  cloths  from 
the  head,  she  spent  herself  In  an  ecstasy  of  kisses 
and  caresses,  nor  could  she  be  prevailed  upon 
to  desist  until  promised  that  she  should  see  It 
thenceforth  whenever  she  wished.  After  leaving 
Burgos  at  this  time,  Juana  could  never  be  pre- 
vailed  upon   to    return   there. 

After  the  picturesque  ceremony  of  his  abdication 
at  Brussels,  Charles  V.  landed  In  Spain  at  Lando, 
from  whence  he  journeyed  to  Burgos.  He  was 
sometimes  carried  In  a  chair,  sometimes  in  a 
horse  litter,  but  he  advanced  with  the  greatest 
difficulty,  suffering  pain  at  every  step.  Some  of 
the  near-by  Spanish  nobility  repaired  to  Burgos 
to  pay  court  to  their  earlier  sovereign,  but  they 
were  so  few  and  their  service  so  negligent  that 
Charles  remarked  it.  Even  the  usually  dutiful 
Philip  was    remiss    at    this    time;    for    the    suffer- 

208 


Stairway  inside  Portal,  North  Transept, 

(Scala   d'Oro), 
Cathedral,    Burgos. 


Alte: 


usually 


BURGOS,   SALAMANCA,   VALLADOLID 

ing  King  was  detained  some  weeks  at  Burgos, 
waiting  for  the  first  payment  of  the  pension  stipu- 
lated at  his  abdication,  without  which  he  was  un- 
able   to   pay   his   bills   and   proceed. 

Philip  IV.,  a  lad  of  eleven,  was  brought  to 
Burgos,  in  1615,  to  meet  his  bride,  Elizabeth  of 
Bourbon.  When  warned  of  her  approach,  the 
little  Infante  with  the  King,  his  father,  rode  a 
league  out  of  the  city  to  meet  her,  and  we  are 
told  that  the  Prince  was  so  dazzled  by  her  beauty 
that  he  could  only  gaze  speechless  upon  her.  The 
next  day  the  old  city  was  resplendent  In  honour 
of  the  future  Queen,  and  Elizabeth  made  her  entry 
into  the  town  on  a  white  palfrey  with  a  silver  sad- 
dle and  housings  of  velvet  and  pearls. 

Carlos  II.  was  not  so  gallant  when  he  came 
to  Burgos  to  receive  the  first  victim  chosen  to 
share  his  shaking  throne.  The  wedding  was  sup- 
posed to  take  place  at  Burgos,  but  when  Marie 
Louise  arrived  at  Quintinapalla,  a  wretched  ham- 
let a  few  miles  from  Burgos,  where  she  was 
obliged  to  spend  the  night,  it  was  discovered  that 
the  Spanish  escort  proposed  to  have  the  ceremony 
there,  and  *that  the  French  attendants  of  the 
Princess  were  to  be  debarred  from  being  present. 
Each  party  at  once  flew  Into  a  passion,  and  a 
courier  was  sent  galloping  to  Burgos,  where  the 
half-witted  King  was  awaiting  his  bride.  In  the 
end   the    wedding    took    place    in    the   poor    room 

209 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

where  Marie  Louise  had  spent  the  night,  but  her 
French  servants  were  In  attendance  and  saw  to 
it  that  she  was  properly  married  to  the  Spanish 
King.  An  Impromptu  dinner  followed  the  cere- 
mony, after  which  the  royal  pair,  In  a  big  coach, 
floundered  over  vile  roads  Into  Burgos.  The 
next  day  the  Queen  stole  out  to  Las  Huelgas, 
from  whence,  dressed  In  the  Spanish  fashion,  she 
made  her  royal  entry  on  horseback,  and  for 
three  days  the  town  was  given  up  to  masquerades, 
plays,   and  bull  fights. 

The  state  apartments  of  the  old  castle  were 
destroyed  by  fire  in  1736,  but  the  fortress  re- 
mained the  chief  defence  of  Burgos  for  another 
three-quarters  of  a  century.  At  the  beginning  of 
the  French  occupation  of  Spain,  Napoleon  was 
able  to  seize  Burgos,  and  from  1808  to  18 13  he 
made  it  his  headquarters.  In  18 12,  Wellington 
laid  siege  to  it,  but,  although  heroic  efforts  were 
made,  reports  of  French  reinforcements  compelled 
the  English  to  retreat.  A  year  later,  when  the 
French  evacuated  the  peninsula,  the  castle  was 
mined  by  them  to  be  blown  up  when  they  should 
have  left  the  town.  But  the  mines  were  pre- 
maturely fired  and  three  hundred  French  were 
caught  In  the  ruins.  Several  streets  and  a  num- 
ber of  scattered  buildings  were  destroyed  by  the 
shock,  and,  to  a  lover  of  old  glass,  not  the  least 
lamentable   result   of   the   havoc  was  the   breaking 

210 


I 


UL 


d    thf 


masque 

-    !!l  hirh- 
Apse  and  ZJupola,  Old  Cathedral, 

Salamanca. 

Tower  of  New  Cathedral  in  Background. 


bpaui,    - 


BURGOS,   SALAMANCA,   VALLADOLID 

of  all  the  fine  old  windows  in  the  cathedral.  To- 
day even  the  ruins  of  the  old  castle  have  been 
removed,  and  one  of  the  most  historic  sites  in 
northern  Spain  is  now  a  scarred  and  barren  hill- 
side. 

•  •  •  •  • 

As  the  history  of  Salamanca  presents  little  of 
importance,  her  chief  interest  to-day  lies  in  a  few 
really  fine  old  monuments.  Of  these  the  chief 
lions  are  two  Cathedrals,  an  old  and  new,  and 
a  famous  University;  although  to  these  might  be 
added  an  old  Roman  bridge,  a  few  lesser  churches, 
the  tower  of  an  old  Castilian  castle,  and  a  num- 
ber of  Renaissance  palaces. 

The  Romans  made  Salamanca  a  military  sta- 
tion, and  built  her  a  bridge  on  the  old  RomaiT 
road.  The  Goths  patronized  the  town,  and  with 
other  cities  on  this  debatable  southern  frontier  of 
Old  Castile,  Salamanca  bore  her  part  in  the 
strife  between  Christians  and  Moslems;  yet  no 
fame  came  to  her  until  the  foundation  of  her  Uni- 
versity. The  establishment  of  a  Master  School 
at  Salamanca  occurred  in  12 15,  and  only  thirty 
years  later,  mention  was  made  of  the  Foundation 
at  Salamanaca  as  one  of  the  four  great  universities 
of  the  world.  The  order  of  their  importance,  as 
given  by  the  council  of  Leon,  was  Oxford,  Sala- 
manaca, Bologna,  Paris;  but  there  were  those  who 
placed  Paris  first. 

2111 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

The  University  was  especially  favoured  by  St. 
Ferdinand  and  his  scholarly  son,  Alfonso  X.,  and, 
in  the  fourteenth  century,  ten  thousand  students 
were  claimed.  These  are  said  to  have  gathered 
from  all  parts  of  the  world,  and  many  of  them, 
after  study  here,  became  famous  teachers  else- 
where. There  were  many  different  schools,  whose 
students  were  distinguished  by  capes  of  different 
colours.  White  Indicated  theology,  red — civilians, 
green — lawyers,  and  yellow — medicine.  These  col- 
ours now  survive  In  the  tassels  worn  on  the  stu- 
dents'  caps. 

The  twentieth-century  woman  who  prides  her- 
self on  the  achievement  of  higher  education  for 
her  sex,  must  lower  her  crest  before  Salamanca; 
for  here  In  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries 
were  found,  not  only  women  students,  but  women 
professors.  The  chair  of  Classical  Latlnlty  was  at 
one  time  occupied  by  a  woman;  moreover,  we  are 
told  that  the  great  Queen  Isabella  chose  a  woman 
to   Instruct  her    In   Latin. 

As  may  be  Imagined,  Ferdinand  and  Isabella 
made  large  grants  to  this  University,  and  the 
Gothic  Plateresque  fagade,  erected  by  them,  whose 
delicate  beauty  furnishes  one  of  the  most  charm- 
ing examples  of  that  style  in  Spain,  Is  the  most 
splendid  single  feature  of  the  rambling  and  heter- 
ogeneous buildings  to-day.  Busts  of  the  King  and 
Queen  occupy  a  central  position  In  the  scheme  of 

212 


University,  Salamanca. 

(Plateresque  Ornament) 
Detail  of  Fagade. 


^■.'t:,«^g^?^'2^ii 


BURGOS,   SALAMANCA,   VALLADOLID 

decoration  which  Is  spread  all  over  a  great  panel 
above  the  portals.  The  design  and  execution  are 
of  great  delicacy  and  beauty,  and  the  result  is 
one  of  the  loveliest  works  of  the  period.  An- 
other exquisite  bit  Is  the  late  Gothic  cornice  in 
a  neighbouring  court;  and  in  one  of  the  hallways 
is   a   Renaissance   stairway  which   Is   superb. 

Across  a  narrow  street  from  the  University  are 
the  two  cathedrals,  curiously  built  side  by  side, 
and  In  some  ways  the  earlier  one  Is  one  of  the 
most  Interesting  buildings  In  Europe.  It  Is  be- 
lieved to  have  been  founded  within  a  few  years 
of  the  foundation  of  the  cathedral  at  Toledo, 
and,  as  with  the  latter  church,  the  builder  was 
a  Frenchman.  At  Salamanca  the  builder  was  also 
a  bishop,  and  no  less  a  personage  than  the  friend 
and  confessor  of  the   CId. 

The  work  was  probably  begun  before  the  close 
of  the  eleventh  century,  and  the  lower  walls  and 
most  of  the  detail  are  pure  Romanesque,  although 
some  of  the  vaulting  is  ribbed  In  what  appears 
to  be  an  early  attempt  to  Introduce  Gothic  vault- 
ing. But  the  crowning  glory  of  this  church  Is 
the  cupola,  which  is  one  of  the  most  successful 
solutions  ever  achieved  of  the  difficult  problem 
of  a  satisfactory  covering  at  the  Intersection  of 
nave   and   transepts.^ 

This  cupola  is  best  described  as  a  Gothic  dome 

8  See  illustration. 
213 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

supported  over  open  arches  by  a  drum  and  pen- 
dentlves.  The  exterior  form  is  octagonal,  al- 
though the  two-story  drum  is  made  to  look  square 
by  the  addition  of  round  turrets,  which  fill  the 
angles  of  the  square  opening  to  be  covered,  and 
at  the  same  time  act  as  buttresses  to  counteract 
the  thrust  of  the  Inner  vault.*  The  proportions 
of  parts  are  wholly  admirable,  and  the  contrast 
between  the  round  turrets  and  the  angular  gables 
which  crown  the  windows  of  the  cardinal  sides  of 
the  lantern,  with  the  variety  in  size  and  treatment 
of  the  openings,  combine  to  produce  that  delicate 
balance  of  parts  which  Is  the  hall-mark  of  the 
purest  art.  The  decorative  treatment  Is  likewise 
beyond  praise,  showing  at  the  same  time  a  rich- 
ness and  a  restraint  found  only  in  the  best  work 
of  the  best  periods. 

The  Interior  drum  is  round,  and  likewise  di- 
vided by  two  orders  of  pilasters  into  two  stages. 
Round  arches  In  the  lower  stage,  and  trefoUed 
ones  in  the  upper,  fill  the  spaces  between  the  pi- 
lasters, and  the  pilasters  support  ribs  which  carry 
the  vault  up  to  a  point.  The  \yIndows  found  in 
the  arches  of  each  of  the  cardinal  sides  of  the 
cupola,  one  in  the  lower  stage,  and  three  in  the 
upper,   admit  sufficient   light  to   produce   the   most 

4  It  will  be  seen  that  only  the  exterior  of  Trinity  tower,  Boston, 
•was  modelled  upon  this  at  Salamanca,  and  that  only  its  general 
style   was  imitated. 


I 


■I 


Renaissance  Stairzvay,  Uf' 
Salamanca. 


2x4 


BURGOS,  SALAMANCA,   VALLADOLID 

effective  possible  illumination  of  the  lantern  itself 
and  the  church  below.  Indeed,  this  lighting  is 
one  of  the  chief  successes  of  the  lantern,  as  will 
be  quickly  realized  by  comparing  with  it  the  in- 
terior gloom  of  the  great  Gothic  dome  of  Bru- 
nelleschi   at   Florence. 

When,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  a  new  cathedral 
was  projected  at  Salamanca,  there  was  a  pro- 
longed discussion  as  to  whether  or  not  the  old 
one  should  be  destroyed  to  make  way  for  it.  We 
must  give  thanks  that  the  destruction  was  voted 
down,  but  why  it  was  found  necessary  to  take 
an  irregular  slice  off  the  north  side  of  the  old 
structure,  no  one  has  ever  attempted  to  explain.. 
The  new  church  is  a  fair  example  of  the  Gothic 
of  its  period  in  Spain.  In  size,  height,  and  open- 
ness, it  is  really  superb,  but  all  the  details  are 
thin  and  poor;  and  the  constant  repetition  of  the 
same  features,  with  the  frequent  introduction  of 
curious,  rather  than  harmonious,  lines  and  motives, 
imparts  a  poverty-stricken  look  to  an  edifice 
which   ought   to    be   magnificent. 

The  church  of  St.  Domlnick  has  a  very  remark- 
able and  really  splendid  portal.  In  elaboration  it 
exceeds  the  fagade  of  the  University,  but  its  de- 
sign is  not  so  pure.  Surrounding  the  altar  of 
this  church  is  some  overdone  gilded  ornament 
which  is  the  work  of  Churrlguerra  himself,  for 
that  author  of  most  of  the  gimcrackery  in  Spain 

215 


BUILDERS  OE  SPAIN 

was  a  native  of  Salamanca.  It  was  in  the  con', 
vent  of  St.  Domlnick,  to  which  this  church  be- 
longs, that  Columbus  was  lodged  when  he  fol- 
lowed Ferdinand  and  Isabella  to  Salamanca  to 
make  one  of  those  early  appeals  for  royal  aid 
which  fell  upon  deaf  ears.  The  University  Dons, 
who  were  even  then  busily  expounding  the  the- 
oretical system  of  Copernicus,  gave  him  scant 
courtesy,  regarding  his  ideas  as  the  visions  of  a 
half-demented  dreamer. 

The  Torre  del  Clavero,  although  small,  is  an 
excellent  example  of  a  mediaeval  Castilian  keep. 
The  form  of  the  turrets  and  the  manner  in  which 
they  are  made  to  crown  the  structure,  seem  to  be 
peculiar  to  Castile.  As  points  of  lookout  and  de- 
fence, they  appear  to  be  admirable,  and  they  are 
certainly  most  picturesque. 

With  the  curious  Casa  de  las  Conchas,  a  house 
whose  walls  are  spotted  all  over  at  regular  inter- 
vals with  shells,  and  two  or  three  Renaissance 
palaces,  the  list  of  Salamanca's  monumental  attrac- 
tions is  concluded,  and  they  are  quite  sufficient  to 
warrant  a  visit,  even  without  the  addition  of 
great  historic  interest.  But  there  is  also  the 
charm,  not  preserved  in  larger  or  more  famous 
centres,  of  a  purely  Spanish  life,  which  is  well 
worth  even  the  discomforts  of  a  journey  to  Sala- 
manca to  see.  Here,  in  spite  of  the  life  of  the 
University,  which  is  still  considerable,  as  we  can  tes- 

216 


v  i 


1' or  re  del  Clavero,  Scdamiinca, 


BURGOS,   SALAMANCA,   VALLADOLID 

tify,  having  arrived  at  the  opening  of  a  semester, 
are  to  be  seen  ways  and  costumes  which  are 
mediaeval.  The  vivid  colour,  pervasive  sleepiness, 
and  occasional  bursts  of  passionate  life,  are  dis- 
tinctly Spanish,  and,  to  a  lover  of  local  colour,  a 
never-ending    source    of    interest. 

In  the  midst  of  the  same  bare  brown  plain 
which  extends  to  Salamanca,  is  Valladolid,  one  of 
the  most  disappointing  towns  in  our  experience. 
After  so  frequent  mention  of  the  city  in  history, 
one  naturally  anticipates  a  corresponding  propor- 
tion of  picturesque  remains,  and  an  air,  at  least, 
of  distinction.  But  Valladolid,  to-day,  is  hope- 
lessly commonplace,  and  the  few  monuments  which 
one  stops  there  to  see,  lack  the  importance  we 
felt  we  had  a  right  to  expect  in  a  city  once  the 
capital  of  Spain,  and  that  at  the  time  of  her 
greatest  wealth  and  power. 

The  interest  at  Valladolid  Is  practically  confined 
to  her  period  of  political  Importance,  namely,  the 
thirteenth  to  the  sixteenth  century.  Of  course 
there  are  not  lacking  claims  to  a  great  antiquity, 
but  we  fail  to  find  much  of  consequence  earlier 
than  the  memorable  visit  of  young  Prince  Ferdi- 
nand to  his  mother  Berenguela,  during  which  she 
relinquished  her  rights  in  his  favour;  and.  In 
making  him  King  of  Castile,  laid  the  foundation 
for  a  united  Spain. 

217 


BUILDERS  OE  SPAIN 

One  hundred  and  fifty  years  later,  Pedro  the 
Cruel  came  here  to  greet  his  bride,  Blanche  of 
Bourbon.  Evidently  Pedro  did  not  take  sufficient 
interest  in  her  to  go  as  far  as  Burgos,  and  the 
poor  unfortunate  might  have  considered  herself 
lucky  had  he  omitted  meeting  her  at  all.  There 
are  many  stories  of  kindnesses  to  the  young  Queen 
on  the  part  of  the  King's  brother,  Don  Fadrique, 
which  at  this  first  meeting  aroused  the  jealousy  of 
Pedro,  but  we  may  only  echo  the  pious  phrase 
of  the  Arabs :  "  God  only  knows." 

It  was  King  Juan  II.,  the  father  of  Queen  Isa- 
bella, who  founded  the  importance  of  Valladolid 
by  making  it  the  residence  of  the  Castilian  court. 
Many  favours  were  shown  the  city  by  Juan,  and 
there  are  accounts  of  jousts  and  tournaments,  and 
even  of  a  great  ball,  which,  strange  to  say,  was 
danced  in  the  old  convent  of  San  Pablo;  all  of 
which  read  most  festively  in  the  annals  of  the 
city. 

But  it  was  also  at  Valladolid  that  King  Juan,  in 
the  execution  of  his  minister  and  one-time  favour- 
ite, the  Conde  Alvaro  de  Luna,  committed  the 
great  crime  of  his  reign.  It  is  not  to  be  im- 
agined that  the  favourite  was  above  reproach,  but 
many  have  far  more  deserved  death  than  he,  and 
his  execution  is  said  to  have  been  the  result 
of  a  jealous  whim  of  the  Queen.  Her  charges 
of    insults    and    treason,  which  procured  the  fatal 

218 


t; 


did  not  take 


San  Pablo,  ValladoUd. 

Faga^e.  ; :  ^ .  -     O 


irnnmcnts.      r;  \ 


BURGOS,   SALAMANCA,   VALLADOLID 

order  from  the  King,  followed  shortly  upon  the 
birth  of  her  Infant  daughter,  when  the  uxorious 
Juan  could  refuse  her  nothing.  The  birth  of 
the  great  Isabella,  therefore,  was  marked  by  mur- 
der as  cold-blooded  as  history  often  records. 
The  execution  took  place  in  the  same  Plaza  Mayor 
in  which  Berenguela  had  performed  her  noble  act 
of   renunciation. 

The  next  incident  to  be  recorded,  the  marriage 
of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  Is  still  the  city's  chief 
title  to  fame.  But  the  commonplace  building, 
called  the  Audlencia,  which  Is  said  to  have  served 
for  that  most  picturesque  and  much-described 
first  meeting.  Is  calculated  to  dampen  even  the 
most  extravagant  enthusiasm.  The  covert  glances 
of  mutual  Inspection  of  the  handsome  pair,  and 
the  whispered  *' Ese  es,  ese  es^^ — That  is  he, 
that  is  he — which  pointed  out  the  bridegroom  to 
the  waiting  bride,  is  one  of  the  most  romantic 
episodes  in  history,  which  It  seemed  impossible  to 
associate  with  a  modern-looking  building  now 
used  as  a  sort  of  police  court.  We  could  only 
hope  that  In  some  way  we  were  misinformed,  and 
that  the  more  interesting  structure  of  our  imag- 
ination   had    somehow    evaded    us. 

The  later  visits  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  to 
Valladolld  are  too  numerous  to  mention.  They 
were  great  travellers,  called  in  every  direction  by 
their  work  of  the  unification  of  the  peninsula;  and 

219 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

they  seemed  to  be  always  stopping  In  "their  faith- 
ful Valladolld "  en  route.  But  only  one  monu- 
ment of  Importance  of  this  reign  remains  In  Val- 
Jadolld  to-day,  and  It  Is  extremely  doubtful  If 
there  ever  was  anything  else  of  note.  This  Is 
the  convent  of  San  Gregorlo,  a  picture  of  whose 
facade  is  In  the  first  chapter  of  this  book.  Al- 
though there  are  two  or  three  other  buildings  In 
Valladolld  which  violate  fewer  of  the  usually  ac- 
cepted canons  of  good  taste,  this  fagade  remains 
the  most  virile  bit  of  work  In  the  city,  and  the 
one  thing  well  worth  going  there  to  see.  The 
cloisters  of  San  Gregorlo  are  equally  bizarre',  but 
are  also  coarse  and  heavy. 

Two  years  after  the  death  of  Isabella,  Colum- 
bus was  found  at  Valladolld,  poor,  ill,  and  for- 
saken, a  heart-rending  example  of  the  ingratitude 
of  princes;  and  there  he  died  In  the  little  house 
still  pointed  out  as  the  scene  of  the  end  of  his 
tragic  life. 

When  Charles  V.  finally  found  time  to  visit 
his  Spanish  kingdom,  he  made  his  way  at  once  to 
Valladolld,  where,  upon  a  great  platform  In  the 
Plaza  Mayor,  he  proclaimed  a  general  amnesty 
to  all  those  who  had  revolted  under  the  oppres- 
sions of  his  Flemish  servants.  By  such  means 
Charles  finally  succeeded  in  overcoming  his  earlier 
unpopularity.  A  few  months  later,  a  splendid 
bull  fight,  in  the  same  Plaza,  celebrated  the  birth 

22<X 


BURGOS,   SALAMANCA,   VALLADOLID 

of  Philip  II.,  which  occurred  In  a  large  house 
opposite  San  Gregorio.  It  Is,  of  course,  called  a 
palace,  but  Is  sadly  unpretentious  In  proportion  to 
the  magnitude  of  the  event,  then  reckoned  as  of 
world-wide  Importance.  At  the  bull  fight  the 
King  Is  said  to  have  killed  a  bull  with  his  own 
royal   hands. 

The  first  burning  of  heretics,  called  an  ''Auto 
de  Fe/'  from  the  Portuguese,  meaning  an  Act  of 
Faith,  took  place.  In  1559,  in  the  same  much- 
used  square.  The  curiosity  to  see  the  spectacle 
was  so  great  that  seats  were  sold  for  what  were 
then  considered  large  sums.  Fourteen  heretics 
were  burned,  and  the  curious  story  Is  told  of  the 
exhumation  and  burning  of  the  bones  of  a 
woman  whose  remains,  at  a  post  mortem,  had 
caused  her  to  be  suspected  of  heresy. 

Philip  II.  Is  said  to  have  taken  great  pleasure 
in  improving  and  redecorating  his  native  city,  but 
the  vast  Greco-Roman  cathedral  begun  by  him 
was  never  finished,  and  remains  a  hideous  bald 
fragment.  But  although  the  cathedral  was  a  fail- 
ure, and  Philip  removed  his  capital  to  Madrid, 
Valladolld  at  this  time  was  an  extremely  populous 
and  popular  city,  the  favourite  resort  of  artists 
and  diplomats.  This  popularity  continued  until 
the  next  reign,  when  an  effort  was  made  to  bring 
about  a  return  of  the  court.  The  effort  was  in- 
spired   by    the    King's    favourite,    the    Duke    of 

221 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

Lerma,  who  owned  large  estates  in  the  vicinity 
of  Valladolid;  but  with  his  fall  the  scheme  was 
dropped,  and  the  city  gradually  sank  into  insig- 
nificance. 

The  fagade  of  the  old  church  of  San  Pablo  was 
completed  by  the  Duke  of  Lerma  after  his  re- 
tirement from  office,  and  although  the  work  lacks 
unity  of  design,  it  has  a  certain  charm,  and  must 
rank  second  in  interest  here  to  San  Gregorlo, 
which  it  adjoins.  The  old  Romanesque  church  of 
Sta.  Maria  la  Antigua,  dating  about  1200,  pre- 
sents also  some  details  of  real  interest  and  beauty. 
Then,  as  an  example  to  architects  of  what  to 
avoid,  there  is  that  triumph  of  the  Churriguer- 
esque,  the  University;  one  of  the  most  astonishing 
buildings  in  all  Spain.  But  although  its  style  and 
ornamentation  display  a  lack  of  discrimination  and 
sense  of  propriety  which  are  extreme  in  the  his- 
tory of  art,  its  faults,  redundancy  and  lack  of  a 
sense  of  organism,  are  the  faults  of  the  race; 
moreover,  it  has  one  saving  grace:  a  vigour 
which  at  least  saves  it  from  dullness. 


222 


:     lilLC: 


Exterhr  of  Apse, 

Cathedral  (La  Seo)  Saragosait. 


':  of  discrimin 


<Mk.f 


Chapter  XX 
SARAGOSSA  AND  ARAGON 

A  LTHOUGH  Saragossa  (spelled  also  Zara- 
/~\  goza)  Is  believed  to  have  been  orig- 
Inally  a  Celtlberlan  settlement,  Its  name, 
together  with  Its  first  Importance,  was  derived 
from  Caesar  Augustus,  of  whose  name  Saragossa  Is 
a  corruption;  and  under  Imperial  favour  the  city 
attained  considerable  consequence.  A  very  early 
chapter  of  Christian  history  Is  also  claimed,  with 
some  of  the  first  Christian  martyrs  In  Spain,  and 
the   foundation   of  a   church   as   early   as   290. 

Chief  among  the  martyrs  of  Saragossa  was  Vin- 
cent, whose  legend  bears  about  the  same  date  as 
this  first  church.  Vincent  was  a  native  of  Sara- 
gossa, and  his  martyrdom  occurred  there  during 
the  terrible  persecutions  of  Dacian.  Because  of 
his  boldness  in  defending  his  faith,  the  most  fear- 
ful tortures  were  Invented  for  Vincent,  all  of 
which  he  endured  with  superhuman  fortitude. 
Enraged  by  his  composure,  Dacian  ordered  the 
body  of  the  martyr,  after  his  death,  to  be  thrown 
to  wild  beasts,  but  It  was  guarded  by  ravens,  and 
the  beasts  refused  to  touch  It.  Then  It  was  sewn 
up  in  an  oxhide,  carried  out  to  sea  and  thrown 
overboard,    but    when    the    boatmen    reached    the 

223 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

shore  it  was  found  upon  the  sands.  They  ran 
away  terrified,  but  the  waves  hollowed  out  a 
grave  and  burled  the  saint's  body  In  the  sands, 
where  It  remained  until  miraculously  revealed  to 
the  Valenclans,  who  removed  It  to  their  own  city. 

Why  Saragossa  did  not  discover  and  keep  the 
relics  herself.  Is  almost  more  remarkable  than  the 
legend;  but  she  had  the  stole  of  the  saint  which, 
as  the  years  went  by,  appears  to  have  proved  as 
efficacious  In  working  miracles  as  his  bones.  Its 
most  famous  service  was  the  deliverance  of  the 
city,  In  the  sixth  century,  from  foreign  conquest. 
Besieged  by  Childebert  and  the  Franks,  the  Sara- 
gossans  were  reduced  to  the  last  extremity  when  a 
priest  bethought  him  of  the  saint's  stole.  A 
solemn  procession  marched  with  it  around  the 
walls,  waving  It  In  the  faces  of  the  astonished 
heathen,  who,  we  are  told,  finally  turned  and  fled. 

With  this  beginning,  Saragossa  early  became  a 
city  of  relics  and  the  chief  centre  of  Christianity 
in  northeastern  Spain.  Aulus,  the  first  Christian 
poet,  was  born  In  Saragossa,  and  a  very  early 
council  of  the  church  was  held  here.  But  In  spite 
of  this  Christian  history,  the  architectural  Interest 
of  Saragossa  to-day  dates  not  much  before  the 
eighth  century.  Then  It  was  captured  by  the 
hardy  Berbers,  who,  as  It  will  be  remembered, 
were  relegated  at  the  time  of  the  Moslem  con- 
quest    to    this    northern    plateau;    and    the    inef- 

224 


SARAGOSSA  AND  ARAGON 

faceable  stamp  of  their  three  hundred  years  of 
lordship  Is  still  to  be  found  on  every  part  of  the 
city's  battered  old  walls. 

Scarcely  were  the  Berbers  In  possession  of  Sara- 
gossa  before  they  were  at  war  with  the  Cordovan 
Arabs,  and,  as  from  the  beginning,  the  keynote 
of  all  Its  later  history  is  warfare.  The  most 
famous  Incident  of  the  Moslem  hostilities,  which 
continued  Intermittently  during  the  entire  period 
of  their  occupation,  was  the  reputed  alliance  be- 
tween* the  Berbers  and  Charlemagne;  for  here,  we 
are  told,  It  was  the  Moslem  ruler  of  Saragossa 
who  invited  the  Prankish  King  Into  Spain  to  as- 
sist in  repelling  the  attacks  of  his  Moslem 
brethren  from  the  south.  But  upon  whomsoever 
the  responsibility  of  the  Franklsh  Invasion  may 
rest.  It  was  the  closing  of  the  gates  of  Saragossa 
by  the  Berbers,  the  result.  It  Is  said,  of  a  quick 
revulsion  of  feeling  against  joining  with  their 
natural  enemies  against  their  natural  brethren, 
which  finally  necessitated  the  retreat  of  the  north- 
ern army. 

The  secret  of  Saragossan  Independence,  which 
was  preserved  all  through  the  Moslem  period, 
lay  In  her  position.  As  a  bulwark  against  the 
Christians  in  the  north,  these  rough  Berbers  were 
invaluable  to  the  gradually  weakening  Arabs  in 
the  south,  and  even  the  more  sturdy  African 
kings  were  glad  to  arrange  with  Saragossa  a   de- 

225 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

fensive  alliance  which  left  it  practically  an  Inde- 
pendent city.  At  one  time  the  chiefs  of  the 
Saragossan  Ben-I-Hud  were  the  most  powerful 
sovereigns   In  northern   Spain. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  the  CId  was  driven  out 
of  Castile  by  the  outraged  Alfonso,  and  it  was 
naturally  to  Saragossa  that  he  turned  his  foot- 
steps. He  found  the  Berber  King  only  too  de- 
lighted to  secure  the  service  of  so  redoubtable  a 
warrior,  and  for  a  time,  at  Saragossa,  the  author- 
ity of  the  CId  was  second  only  to  that  of  the 
King  himself.  The  great  condottiere  materially 
assisted  In  strengthening  and  extending  the  pres- 
tige of  that  authority;  but  in  the  end  his  perfect 
readiness  to  serve  any  cause  which  promised  good 
pay,  produced  complications  which  were  not  al- 
ways pleasing  to  his  patron.  It  was  also  found 
that  no  engagements  were  binding  which  became 
disadvantageous  to  him,  and  his  final  departure  to 
the  conquest  of  Valencia  on  his  own  account  was 
an  even  greater  occasion  for  joy  at  Saragossa 
than   his   coming  had   been. 

At  this  time,  the  close  of  the  eleventh  century, 
there  were,  to  the  north  of  Saragossa,  two  petty 
Christian  kingdoms:  Navarre,  which  saddled  the 
Pyrenees,  and  Aragon,  a  small  state  in  the  Spanish 
foothills.  The  former  was  finally  absorbed  by 
France  and  Castile,  but  the  latter  long  remained 
an  independent  power  in  the  peninsula.     In   1113, 

226 


SARAGOSSA  AND  ARAGON 

a  king  of  Aragon  laid  siege  to  Saragossa.  This 
king,  another  Alfonso,^  later  known  as  El  Batal- 
lador,  and  married  to  the  wanton  daughter  of 
Alfonso  VI.,  of  Castile,  invested  the  city  five 
years  before  he  was  able  to  take  it.  The  horrors 
of  this  siege  are  said  to  have  been  extreme,  and 
the  final  capitulation  was  caused  by  hunger.  From 
the  date  of  Alfonso's  entry,  1118,  Saragossa,  long 
recognized  as  the  chief  city  of  the  valley  of  the 
Ebro,  became  the  capital  of  the  kingdom  of  Ara- 
gon. 

Almost  at  once  is  opened  up  the  long  rivalry 
between  Aragon  and  Castile,  and  its  first  note  is 
sounded  in  the  establishment  of  a  shrine  at  Saragossa 
to  compete  with  that  at  Santiago.  As  Ford  ob- 
serves. It  was  unthinkable  that  the  Aragonese  should 

1  Why  the  Spaniards,  with  their  redundancy  of  language,  should 
have  clung  so  stupidly  to  the  name  Alfonso  for  their  kings,  is  a 
constant  wonder  and  grievance  to  the  student  of  history.  More- 
over, many  of  the  Alfonsos  were  contemporary  on  different  thrones, 
and  their  numerals  were  frequently  changed  by  intermarriage  or 
inheritance.  The  above  Alfonso,  for  example,  was  the  first  of 
Aragon,  but  by  right  of  his  wife  he  is  also  known  as  the  seventh 
of  Leon,  and  their  son  actually  became  Alfonso  seventh  of  Leon 
and  second  of  Castile.  Why  the  young  King  was  not  also  the 
second  of  Aragon  we  are  not  informed,  but  the  succession  in 
Aragon  passed  by  election  to  Ramiro,  known  as  the  Monk.  This 
succession  is  not  of  special  importance  here,  unless  as  showing  the 
impossibility  of  a  union  at  this  date  between  Aragon  and  Castile; 
but  the  subject  of  the  Alfonsos  was  introduced  by  way  of  apology 
for  the  number  already  enumerated  in  these  pages.  If  the  reader 
still  feels  aggrieved,  he  is  recommended  to  a  perusal  of  an  old 
unabridged  history  of  this  region  and  period. 

227 


BUILDERS  OE  SPAIN 

be  obliged  to  offer  up  their  prayers  or  their  gold 
at  a  foreign  shrine.  They  accordingly  established 
one  of  their  own,  and,  for  obvious  financial 
reasons,  placed  it  In  their  capital.  The  stole  of 
St.  Vincent  appears  still  to  have  been  a  choice 
possession  of  Saragossa,  but  it  could  hardly  hope 
to  vie  with  the  actual  bones  of  an  apostle.  The 
result  was  the  legend  of  the  appearance  of  the 
Virgin  herself,   to   St.   James. 

The  story  goes  that,  after  the  crucifixion,  St. 
James  applied  to  the  Virgin  for  permission  to  preach 
the  gospel  in  Spain.  His  desire  being-  graciously 
granted,  the  apostle  "kissed  her  hand,"  and  de- 
parted at  once  for  Saragossa,  where,  after  con- 
verting eight  pagans,  he  fell  asleep.  Why  eight 
does  not  appear,  but  while  he  slept  the  angels 
brought  the  Virgin  to  him  from  Palestine  on 
a  jasper  pillar.  (A.  D.  40.)  She  desired  St. 
James  to  found  a  church  upon  the  spot  of  her 
appearance,  and  left  the  pillar,  which  is  still  the 
most  cherished  possession  of  Saragossa.  A  chapel 
was  at  once  erected  which  enshrined  the  precious 
pillar,  and,  it  is  claimed,  that  the  Virgin  fre- 
quently visited  it  to  attend  divine  service.  Be- 
cause of  this  legend,  Saragossa  became  the  chief 
centre  of  Marlolatry  in  Spain,  and  thousands  of 
pilgrims  came  each  year  to  kiss  the  sacred  pillar, 
and  worship  at  her  shrine. 

Between  Alfonso  I.    (1104-1134)    and  Jaime   I. 

228 


SARAGOSSA  AND  ARAGON 

( 1 208-1 276),  El  Conquistador,  Aragon  was  ruled 
by  a  number  of  able  kings.  One  of  thei.:,  by  the 
marriage  of  his  daughter  with  a  count  of  Barce- 
lona, effected  a  union  with  Catalonia,  and  another 
ruled  over  Navarre  as  well.  There  were  also 
tentative  efforts  looking  to  the  extension  into 
Provence  of  Aragonese  sovereignty.  Among  these 
was  the  marriage  of  Pedro  II.  (Jaime's  father) 
with  the  daughter  and  heiress  of  the  Count 
of  Montpelller.  Furthermore,  Jaime,"  who  was 
born  at  Montpelller,  was  almost  at  once  be- 
trothed to  a  daughter  of  the  Count  of  Toulouse, 
and  at  the  same  time  delivered  Into  the  hands  of 
Simon  of  Montfort  (who  here  appears  as  an  In- 
termediary), as  a  sort  of  hostage.  But  presently 
Aragon  and  Toulouse  were  at  war  with  Simon, 
and  the  death  of  Pedro,  who  was  killed  In  a 
fight,  left  the  little  Prince  In  the  hands  of  the 
enemy. 

At  the  death  of  his  father,  Jaime  was  five  years 
old,  and  apparently  with  little  prospect  of  ever 
seeing  his  kingdom.  But  the  Pope  Intervened, 
and,  within  a  year,  Jaime  was  at  Lerlda,  where, 
seated    In    the    lap    of    the    Archbishop    of    Tar- 

2  A  curious  story  is  told  regarding  the  choice  of  name  for  this 
Prince,  a  new  one  among  the  kings  of  Spain.  His  mother  wished 
to  call  him  after  one  of  the  twelve  apostles,  but  being  unable  to 
decide  which  one,  she  procured  twelve  candles,  equal  in  size  and 
weight,  which,  after  naming,  she  lighted.  As  the  one  named 
James  burned  the  longest,  the  infant  was  so  called. 

229 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

ragona,  the  infant  King  received  tHe  oatHs  of 
allegiance  of  the  Cortes  of  Aragon  and  Cata- 
lonia. For  four  ydars  the  kingdom  was  governed 
by  a  regent;  then,  owing  to  constant  quarrels  be- 
tween the  regent  and  the  nobles,  Jaime  took  mat- 
ters Into  his  own  hands.  The  boy  King  was  prac- 
tically a  prisoner  In  the  castle  of  Monzon,  from 
which  his  plucky  escape  and  flight  doubtless 
saved  his  life  as  well  as  his  crown.  His  loyal 
barons  immediately  flocked  to  his  standard,  and 
at  their  head  he  marched  to  Saragossa,  where  his 
entry,  at  the  age  of  nine,  marks  the  beginning  of 
his  reign. 

From  this  beginning,  it  is  easily  seen  that  Jaime 
was  of  a  very  different  type  from  his  contemporary, 
St.  Ferdinand  of  Castile.  Bold,  resolute,  and  un- 
scrupulous, Jaime  was  the  product  of  his  race 
and  his  time.  In  his  maturity  he  strongly  sug- 
gests Henry  IV.  of  France.  A  similar  quickness 
in  embracing  an  opportunity,  a  rough  frankness, 
and  an  even  greater  Irregularity  of  private  life, 
characterize  the  Spanish  King.  But  it  was  only 
a  man  like  Jaime  who  could  have  held  in  check 
his  unruly  and  growing  kingdom.  Strength,  rather 
than  fineness,  was  necessary;  and  Jaime  not  only 
succeeded  In  lessening  the  overweening  power  of 
the  Aragonese  nobility,  but  laid  the  foundation 
for  the  European  prestige  of  his  kingdom.  Dur- 
ing his  reign  the  Balearic  Isles  and  Valencia  were 

2301 


SARAGOSSA  AND  ARAGON 

added  by  conquest  to  Aragon,  and  the  marriage 
of  one  of  Jaime's  sons  to  the  daughter  of  King 
Manfred  of  Sicily,  opened  up  that  question  of 
Spanish  suzerainty  in  one  after  another  of  the 
Italian  states,  whose  ghost  was  not  laid  until  the 
eighteenth  century.  Indeed,  Austrian  claims  to 
Italy,  which  were  only  ended  by  the  Italian  War 
of  Independence  (1859-1861),  may  be  traced  to 
this  effort  of  King  Jaime  to  extend  Aragonese 
power. 

The  many  marriages  and  numerous  children, 
both  legitimate  and  otherwise,  of  King  Jaime  and 
most  of  his  successors  for  several  generations,  are 
hopeless  reading.  Few  of  these  kings  hesitated 
to  murder  their  nearest  of  kindred  if  thereby  their 
own  ends  were  secured;  but  most  of  them  in- 
herited some  proportion  of  the  ability  of  Jaime 
for  the  by  no  means  easy  task  of  ruling  so  in- 
dependent  and   turbulent   a    people. 

With  a  pride  equal  to  that  of  the  Castilians, 
the  Aragonese  were  less  fiery,  and  more  serious. 
Cold,  obstinate,  and  daring,  they  were  ideal 
smugglers,  and  smuggling  is  still  a  much-favoured 
occupation  in  this  region;  while  they  long  limited 
the  power  of  their  kings  to  that  of  an  elective 
office.  Above  the  King  were  the  laws — fueros — 
which,  if  he  infringed  them,  entailed  his  deposi- 
tion and  the  election  of  a  successor.  The  Visi- 
gothic  origin  of  the  Christian  kings  of  Saragossa 

231 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

and  their  laws,  is  readily  seen  In  the  fuero — » 
"  Whenever  a  king  shall  Infringe  the  fueros,  an- 
other, even  a  pagan,  may  be  elected  In  his  stead  " 
— which  Is  so  evidently  a  survival  of  the  old 
Gothic  coronation  oath : — "  King  shalt  thou  be  if 
thou  doest  right.  No  king  shalt  thou  be  if  thou 
doest   not    right." 

The  growing  difficulty  experienced  by  succeeding 
kings  In  maintaining  any  sort  of  control  over  the 
kingdom,  was  the  Inevitable  result  of  such  a  spirit 
and  such  a  law.  The  people  finally  formed  a 
union,  whose  members.  In  case  the  King  violated 
the  law,  were  absolved  from  allegiance.  Even 
modern  democracy  goes  not  so  far.  But  about 
the  middle  of  the  fourteenth  century  there  arose 
a  king,  Pedro  IV.,  who  had  the  courage  to  stand 
out  against  this  socialist  organization.  One  day 
he  seized  their  charter,  and,  with  his  dagger,  cut 
It  Into  ribbons.  Wounding  himself  In  his  haste, 
Pedro  uttered  an  exclamation  which  has  become 
historic:  "Such  a  charter  must  cost  a  king's 
blood." 

It  was  this  Pedro  who,  in  the  old  cathedral  at 
Saragossa,  had  placed  the  crown  upon  his  own 
head,  an  act  which  was  Intended  to  annul  the  sub- 
serviency to  Rome  of  his  predecessor,  Pedro  III. 
The  latter,  who  seems  to  have  been  the  only  one 
of  the  kings  of  Aragon  greatly  troubled  with 
piety,  had  gone  so  far  as  to  declare  his  kingdom 

232 


SARAGOSSA   AND  ARAGON 

a  jfief  of  the  Pope.  Nothing  could  have  been 
more  unpalatable  to  the  Aragonese,  with  whose 
temper  King  Jaime's  cutting  out  of  an  offending 
prelate's  tongue,  was  far  more  in  keeping;  and 
whose  spirit  Is  further  Illustrated  by  the  fact  that 
the  self-coronation  of  Pedro  IV.  was  at  the  in- 
stigation   of   his   nobles. 

But  although  Pedro  IV.  destroyed  their  char- 
ter, the  Aragonese  were  as  sensitive  to  the  honour 
of  their  King  as  to  their  own,  and  their  proud 
jealousy  of  their  ancient  rights  has  always  re- 
mained. In  the  government  of  the  united  penin- 
sula by  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  and  their  heirs, 
no  one  matter  required  greater  delicacy  of  han- 
dling than  the  preservation  of  the  proper  balance 
of  dignity  required  by  Aragon.  As  with  Cata- 
lonia (and  Valencia  also),  the  power  of  the 
province  lay  in  holding  her  purse  strings  tight, 
and  none  were  more  closely  held  than  those  of 
Aragon. 

Upon  the  occasion  of  Charles  V.'s  first  demand 
for  subsidies,  the  prolonged  dickering  of  the  Ara- 
gonian  Cortes  had  a  touch  of  ironic  humour  little 
relished  by  the  sardonic  King.  First  it  was  im- 
possible to  issue  any  grant  until  the  young  sover- 
eign himself  carne  to  Saragossa  and  took  the 
oath  to  respect  the  constitution  of  Aragon.  But, 
when  the  oath  was  taken,  it  was  discovered  that 
Aragionlan    allegiance     to     Juana     prevented     the 

233 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

recognition  of  her  son.  The  resulting  disputes 
were  greatly  prolonged,  and  when  the  King  re- 
ceived his  subsidy  it  was  so  scanty  that  it  did  not 
pay  the  expense  of  his  stay  in  Saragossa;  a  re- 
sult very  gratifying  to  the  merchants  of  the  city, 
and  doubtless  the  chief  purpose  of  the  dilatory 
methods   of   the   Cortes. 

From  Saragossa,  Charles  went  to  Barcelona, 
where  a  similar  experience  occupied  eight  months. 
After  such  beginnings  it  Is  not  to  be  wondered 
at  that  the  Emperor  was  never  greatly  In  love 
with  his  Spanish  subjects,  or  that  he  at  once 
adopted  a  policy  looking  to  the  abatement  of 
the  powers  of  these  provincial  Cortes.  By  as- 
sembling them  as  seldom  as  possible,  their  pres- 
tige was  gradually  lessened;  but  until  well  along 
In  the  reign  of  Philip  II.,  an  official  called  a 
Justicia  was  able  to  defy  any  decision  of  the 
King. 

The  abolition  of  this  office  of  Justicia  was  the 
outcome  of  the  prolonged  Intrigues  of  the  famous 
Antonio  Perez.  Few  royal  secretaries  have  ever 
achieved  a  more  unenviable  reputation  for  double 
dealing.  Although  Perez  publicly  stated  that  the 
young  Prince,  Don  Carlos,  was  murdered  by 
Philip's  orders,  he  was  able  to  retain  the  confi- 
dence of  that  King  for  a  number  of  years;  and 
the  failure  of  much  of  Philip's  heavy  diplomacy 
was     undoubtedly    due    to    his     secretary's    restless 

234 


SARAGOSSA   AND  ARAGON 

machinations.  At  this  time,  Elizabeth  of  Eng- 
land, Catherine  de  Medicis,  and  Philip  of  Spain 
were  the  chief  figures  In  European  politics.  Mary 
Stuart  was  a  prisoner,  and  the  growing  Protes- 
tantism of  the  Low  Countries  marked  them  for 
the  next  Inquisitorial  labours  of  the  Most  Cath- 
olic King.  Catholicism  or  Protestantism  for 
Europe  was  the  great  question  of  the  day,  upon 
which  the  marriage  of  Elizabeth,  or  the  libera- 
tion and  marriage  of  Mary,  might  have  a  de- 
cisive   Influence. 

The  fiery  young  brother  of  the  Spanish  King, 
the  bastard  Don  Juan  of  Austria,  conceived  the 
romantic  scheme  by  which  he  was  to  make  a 
descent  upon  the  English  coast,  liberate  Mary, 
marry  her  out  of  hand,  and,  with  her,  set  up  a 
Catholic  throne  In  Great  Britain.  The  project  was  no 
more  preposterous  than  many  others  of  the  time 
which  were  seriously  considered;  and  doubtless 
Mary  would  have  been  charmed,  for  all  Chris- 
tendom was  ringing  with  the  praises  of  Don 
Juan's  beauty,  which,  with  the  renown  of  his  re- 
cently won  victory  over  the  Turks  at  Lepanto, 
made  him  the  most  popular  hero  of  his  day. 

But  Philip  had  other  plans,  and,  besides,  he 
rarely  favoured  any  scheme  which  he  did  not  him- 
self originate;  while  Perez,  who  feared  a  rival, 
began  to  whisper  doubts  of  Don  Juan's  loyalty. 
The   young   Prince   was   sent   to   the   Netherlands, 

235 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

from  wHence  Perez  tempted  him  to  a  correspond- 
ence which,  as  reported  to  the  King,  could  be 
twisted  Into  treason.  Tasks  which  were  almost 
impossible  to  perform,  and  the  growing  coldness 
of  the  King,  were  fairly  maddening  to  a  spirit 
like  that  of  Don  Juan's.  In  despair  he  sent  his 
secretary,  Escobedo,  to  Intercede  with  Philip;  but 
Perez  procured  a  royal  order  for  Escobedo's 
death,  and  six  months  later  he  was  found  stabbed 
in  the  streets  of  Madrid.  That  was  the  last 
straw,  and  Don  Juan,  broken-hearted,  fell  an 
easy  victim  a  few  months  later  to  malignant 
fever. 

No  sooner  was  his  brother  dead  than  Philip 
began  to  wonder  if  he  had  been  wise  to  trust 
Perez,  and  little  by  little  he  learned  that  the 
secretary  had  systematically  lied  to  him  to  further 
his  own  ends.  Even  the  murder  of  Escobedo 
had  been  to  avenge  the  Princess  of  Eboli,  who 
resented  his  strictures  upon  her  relations  with 
Perez.  Philip  finally  had  both  the  Princess  and 
Perez  arrested;  but,  while  it  was  not  difficult  to 
punish  the  woman,  who  was  never  released,  it 
was  another  matter  to  deal  with  Perez,  who  was 
In  possession  of  the  most  of  Philip's  secrets. 
Furthermore,  as  Perez  had  Philip's  warrant  for 
the  death  of  Escobedo,  there  seemed  to  be  no 
adequate  charge  against  him,  and  all  through  the 
long   processes    of   his    arrests,    rearrests,    tortures, 

236 


SARAGOSSA  AND  ARAGON 

and  fines,  there  were  many  who  thought  the  sec- 
retary badly  used. 

With  the  help  of  these  sympathizers,  Perez 
finally  escaped  to  Saragossa,  where  he  appealed  to 
the  Aragonese  courts  and  defied  the  King.  Philip 
had  sworn  to  respect  Aragonese  liberties,  and  fur- 
thermore had  no  jurisdiction  over  its  Justlcia,  but 
he  sent  an  order  for  the  arrest  of  Perez  and  his 
return  to  Castile.  Then  the  Saragossans  rose  in 
revolt,  not  because  they  sided  with  Perez,  but 
in  defence  of  their  precious  rights.  They  rescued 
the  secretary  and  lodged  him  for  safekeeping  in 
a  prison,  where  he  indulged  in  much  braggadocio 
relative  to  the  power  his  knowledge  gave  him 
with  foreign  courts.  But  when  he  ventured  to 
sneer  at  Philip's  religion  he  went  too  far,  for 
then  he  had  the  Holy  Office  to  deal  with.  He 
was  removed  from  his  safe  prison  to  the  dun- 
geons of  the  Inquisition,  but  this  was  resented  by 
the  people  as  an  infringement  of  their  rights,  and 
a  rising  was  the  result. 

For  a  time  all  authority  was  defied,  the  dun- 
geons of  the  Inquisition  were  opened,  all  the  pris- 
oners were  released,  and  the  King's  representa- 
tive was  nearly  murdered.  Perez  finally  escaped 
to  England,  where  he  sold  his  secrets  for  a  few 
years  of  luxury  in  Essex  House,  but  from  which 
he  was  driven  to  end  his  life  in  misery  In  Paris. 
But    at    Saragossa,    the    escape    of    Perez    was    by 

237. 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

no  means  the  end  of  the  matter;  for  Philip  ap- 
peared upon  the  scene  at  the  head  of  an  army, 
and  in  the  end,  he  not  only  quelled  the  disturb- 
ance, but  hanged  the  Justlcia,  with  whom  per- 
ished his  office.  Further  liberties  were  abro- 
gated by  Philip  IV.,  but  for  another  hundred 
years  Aragon  preserved  her  individuality,  and 
Saragossa  now  has  a  supreme  court  with  jurisdic- 
tion over  seven  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  souls. 

During  the  War  of  Succession,  when  Spanish, 
French,  and  German  armies  marched  back  and 
forth  across  this  northern  plateau,  Saragossa  saw 
many  stirring  days.  The  defeat  of  Philip  V.'s 
army  before  Saragossa  was  followed  by  the  Ger- 
man occupation  of  the  city.  Then  Aragon  de- 
clared for  the  Archduke,  but  later,  when  Charles 
failed  to  hold  Madrid,  and  all  Spain  went  over 
to  Philip,  Saragossa,  also,  was  obliged  to  yield 
allegiance  to  him.  But  the  old  city  paid  dearly 
for  her  vacillation;  for  the  imperious  young  King 
with  one  stroke  of  his  pen  now  abolished  the 
autonomy  she  had  held  so  tenaciously  and  so  long. 

But,  once  again,  during  the  Peninsular  War, 
the  Saragossans  rose  to  the  height  of  their  early 
hardihood  and  patriotism.  There  are  few  ex- 
amples In  history  of  so  relentless  an  Investment 
and  so  dauntless  and  desperate  a  resistance.  If 
we  may  believe  the  authorities,  neither  besiegers 
nor  besieged   displayed   any   great   degree   of   mlll- 

238 


SARAGOSSA   AND  ARAGON 

tary  ability,  but  the  French  army  had  at  least  the 
prestige  and  somewhat  of  the  training  of  Napo- 
leon, while  the  city  had  no  garrison  except  its 
population,  which  was  totally  untrained  and  un- 
prepared. They  elected  a  leader,  one  Palafox, 
whose  chief  qualification  was  that  he  was  hand- 
some, and  for  the  rest,  the  people,  both  men  and 
women,  fought  tooth  and  nail  for  sixty-two  days. 
As  their  situation  became  more  and  more  des- 
perate, the  priests  bethought  them  of  the  early 
efficacy  of  the  stole  of  St.  Vincent.  Then  there 
were  many  other  relics  which  had  been  added  to 
the  famous  shrine  of  the  Pillar.  With  these  in 
hand,  the  people  were  assured  that  there  were  no 
French  outside  the  walls;  that  their  appearance 
was  only  an  optical  delusion.  But  the  solemn 
procession,  with  the  waving  from  the  walls  of 
the  holy  stole,  only  proved  that  the  French  had 
grown  wiser  since  the  sixth  century,  and  the  fight 
went  on  with  redoubled  fury.  Even  after  the 
French  succeeded  in  breaking  through  the  walls, 
every  house  became  a  fortress,  and  every  foot  of 
their  advance  was  contested.  A  pretty  girl,  made 
famous  by  several  modern  poets  as  the  Maid  of 
Saragossa,  snatched  the  match  from  her  dying 
lover^s  hand  and  worked  his  gun  herself.  A 
watchman  In  the  Torre  Nueva  tolled  Its  great 
bell  whenever  he  discovered  a  gun  about  to  be 
fired.     Then  the   people  would  kneel   where   they 

239 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

stood,  cross  themselves,  and.  If  they  escaped, 
mount  some  roof  and  take  the  places  of  those 
who  had  fallen.  The  combat  In  the  streets  con- 
tinued for  twenty-one  days,  and  the  surrender, 
when  It  became  inevitable,  was  upon  honourable 
terms,   but  the  city  was  in  ruins. 

The  hodge-podge  of  architectural  styles  in  Sara- 
gossa,  with  the  battered  appearance  of  most  of 
her  walls.  Is  largely  the  result  of  this  siege.  But 
it  is  a  curious  fact  that  the  dominant  note  In  the 
aspect  of  the  city  to-day  is  Saracenic.  There  are 
two  cathedrals,  of  which  the  older  one,  said  to 
occupy  the  site  of  the  early  church  established  in 
290,  alone  enjoys  the  title,  La  Seo  (The  See). 
The  other,  called  El  Pilar,  replaces  the  chapel  of 
the  Pillar,  and,  for  several  centuries,  was  the 
most  important  point  for  pilgrimage  in  this  part 
of  Spain.  Now,  at  the  end  of  every  six  months, 
the  Bishop  removes  his  seat  from  one  to  the  other 
of  these  churches,  and  so,  as  is  pointed  out,  poor 
broken-down  Saragossa  has  two  cathedrals,  while 
Madrid  has   none. 

At  the  reconquest,  the  Christians  found  a  Berber 
mosque  on  the  site  of  the  first  Christian  church, 
possibly  with  some  of  the  original  structure  in- 
corporated In  its  walls.  The  building  was  at  once 
reconsecrated  to  Christian  uses,  and  for  the  next 
two  hundred  years  its  history  records  enlarge- 
ments,   repairs,    and   rebuilding,  with   the    result — 

240 


SARAGOSSA  AND  ARAGON 

the  old  cathedral  that  we  see  to-day.  The  in- 
terior Is  Gothic.  There  are  double  aisles  on  each 
side  of  the  nave,  and  all,  including  the  nave,  are 
vaulted  at  the  same  level.  There  is,  therefore, 
an  effect  of  extreme  breadth,  but,  with  no  clere- 
story wall  in  which  to  place  windows,  the  church 
is    very    dark. 

To  add  to  this  sombreness,  the  chief  entrance 
is  placed  in  a  corner,  and  the  nave,  as  usual  In 
Spain,  is  blocked  by  the  Coro.  The  clustered 
piers  and  pointed  arches  are  fine  in  line  and  pro- 
portion, but  beyond  that  there  is  little  pure  Gothic 
about  the  building.  A  floor  of  red  marble  rayed 
with  black,  gilded  ornaments  In  the  roof,  and 
carved  ornament  and  furnishings  In  all  styles  from 
Pagan  to  Churrlguerresque,  combine  to  produce 
little  more  satisfactory  In  this  Interior  than  a 
picturesque  confusion.  The  Pagan  details  are  pos- 
sibly from  the  original  church,  and  there  are  bits 
of  brick-work  which  are  undoubtedly  remnants  of 
the    Berber   mosque. 

The  most  striking  feature  of  the  exterior,  which 
is  also  the  most  beautiful  part  of  the  entire  struc- 
ture, is  the  splendid  wall  of  Berber  brick-work  at 
the  northeast  angle  of  the  apse.  If  the  date 
given  for  this  wall — the  fourteenth  century — Is 
correct,  then,  here  as  well  as  at  Toledo,  Moslem 
labourers  were  long  employed  by  their  Christian 
conquerors.     The  great  beauty  of  this  wall  Is  ap- 

241 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

parent  even  In  the  photograph,  but  to  the  grace 
of  Its  patterns  of  relief,  a  glory  of  colour  Is 
added  In  the  Inlay  of  glazed  tiles,  In  red,  blue, 
green,  buff,  and  white.  As  the  bricks  of  the 
wall  are  much  darkened  by  age,  and  the  tiles  are 
rich  In  tone,  there  are  few  pieces  of  Saracenic 
work  In  the  peninsula  which  outrank  It  In  esthetic 
value.  The  fagade  of  La  Seo  Is  a  most  Ineffect- 
ive piece  of  Greco-Roman  work,  and  the  tower. 
In  the  same  style.  Is  as  bad  or  worse. 

El  Pilar  Is  quite  as  much  of  a  medley  of 
styles  as  La  Seo,  and  far  more  tawdry.  Built  In 
the  seventeenth  century.  It  Is  mostly  Renaissance, 
but  Its  clustering  domes,  covered  with  green, 
yellow,  and  white  glazed  tiles.  Impart  an  Eastern 
look;  and  much  of  the  eighteenth-century  ornamen- 
tation spread  all  over  the  building  Is  even  more 
incongruous.  The  Santa  Capllla,  In  which  Is 
kept  the  sacred  pillar  with  its  Image  of  the  Vir- 
gin, together  with  other  relics,  was  long  one  of 
the  richest  In  Europe.  Although  the  French  car- 
ried away  a  great  deal,  the  Treasury  of  the 
Virgin  still  contains  a  superb  collection  of  jewels; 
and  the  altarplece,  mostly  of  alabaster,  is  a  mar- 
vel of  splendid  workmanship. 

Only  second  in  Interest  to  the  Saracenic  wall 
of  La  Seo,  Is  the  rather  fantastic  Torre  Nueva. 
Entirely  lacking  the  beauty  of  form  of  that  other 
Berber    tower,    the    Giralda    at    Seville,    this    one, 

242 


I 

i 


Torre  Nnevd,  ^Sara^ossa, 


SARAGOSSA  AND  ARAGON 

nevertheless,  possesses  distinct  character  and 
charm.  The  form  Is  octagonal,  drawing  In  to- 
ward the  top,  and  the  structure  Is  crowned  by  a 
pyramidal  roof,  rather  pointed,  and  decorated, 
somewhat  after  the  fashion  of  the  cathedral 
tower  at  Toledo,  with  rows  of  spikes.  The  en- 
tire effect,  which  Is  decidedly  bizarre.  Is  rendered 
more  so  by  the  fact  that,  owing  to  poor  founda- 
tions, the  tower  leans.  Indeed,  such  a  mass  of 
bricks  In  that  position  (ten  feet  out  of  perpen- 
dicular) looks  most  Insecure.  The  great  beauty 
of  the  tower  Is  the  panelled  relief  of  brick-work 
which  is  spread  all  over  it.  The  designs  are 
totally  unlike  the  delicate  arcades  of  the  Giralda, 
being  geometrical,  often  angular  figures;  yet  the 
beauty  of  the  result  Is  most   striking. 

The  old  palace  of  the  Berber  kings  is  situated 
a  short  distance  outside  the  city  walls.  Its  tra- 
ditional strength,  as  well  as  its  position,  at  least 
suggests  the  ruler's  need  of  defence  against  his  own 
people.  It  has  been  many  times  ruined  and  rebuilt, 
and  besides  serving  as  a  royal  palace,  has  been 
used  as  a  prison,  a  barracks,  and  a  hospital.  Yet 
It  still  bears  the  name,  Aljaferia,  derived  from 
that  of  its  builder,  Aben  Aljafa;  and  Its  architect- 
ural interest  to-day  lies  mainly  In  what  Is  left  of 
its  Saracenic  decoration.  Although  a  little  heavier 
and  less  pure  than  that  of  the  Alhambra,  the 
ornament  of  the  Aljaferia  has  a  sort  of  splendour 

243 


BUILDERS  OE  SPAIN 

which,   even   in   the   fragments  left,   lends   distinc- 
tion  to   the    heterogeneous    pile. 

Saragossa  has  a  noble  old  bridge,  a  Plateresque 
Lonja,  a  number  of  smaller  churches,  and  many 
curious  and  characteristic  towers,  but,  after  all, 
the  charm  of  the  broken  old  city  lies  more  In  a 
pervasive  picturesqueness.  The  dark,  narrow 
streets  are  lined  with  what  were  once  splendid 
houses,  in  whose  walls  may  now  be  found  lovely 
bits  of  Moorish  diapers  and  tiles,  together  with 
ornament  in  most  of  the  later  styles  produced  In 
Spain.  The  Plateresque  in  Saragossa  was  so 
strongly  coloured  by  Saracenic  Influences  that  it 
became  a  distinct  style,  known  as  the  Aragonese 
Plateresque,  and  old  beams,  mouldings,  and  cor- 
nices, are  heavy  with  these  quaint  carvings.  The 
Gothic  is  less  seen,  and  what  there  is  of  the  Re- 
naissance is  tawdry;  yet  the  melange  is  indescriba- 
bly rich  and  lovely.  With  these,  and  memories 
of  deeds,  which,  even  for  Spain,  were  high-handed 
and  daring,  the  Aragonese  may  well  claim  to  have 
contributed  an  individual  and  striking  chapter  to 
the  sum  total  of  peninsular  development. 


244 


Chapter  XXI 
THE  EAST  COAST 

BARCELONA,  VALENCIA 

IF  the  Catalans  may  be  included  as  in  any 
sense  among  the  Builders  of  Spain,  it  must 
be  as  unwilling  contributors  to  the  general 
fund  of  pan-peninsular  culture  and  nationality.  In 
their  hearts  they  have  always  been  Catalans  and 
never  Spaniards;  paying  tribute,  when  they  must, 
to  Visigoths  or  Moslems,  France  or  Spain;  but 
always  selling  their  soil  or  their  service  so  as  to 
retain  their  ancient  rights,  and  an  air,  at  least, 
of  independence.  Divided  by  high  mountains  and 
long  stretches  of  tablelands  from  the  dominant 
life  in  the  broad  centre  of  the  peninsula,  the  east 
coast  has  always  been  able  to  maintain  a  separate- 
ness  almost  as  distinct  as  that  of  Portugal.^  To 
a  degree,  the  civilizations  of  both  borderlands 
were  tributary  to  the  tide  which  surged  up  and 
down  the  broad  central  plateau,  but  in  both  cases 
the  give  and  take  of  life  and  character  was  more 
constant,  as  well  as  more  potent,  with  other  peo- 
ples than  with  Spain. 

There    are    only    two    practicable    passes    from 

1 "  The  kingdoms  of  Aragon  and  Valencia  and  the  principality  of 
Catalonia  were  in  extent  less  than  a  quarter  of  the  kingdom  of 
Castile.  The  three  states  were  united  by  only  a  personal  tie;  each 
had  its  separate  Corte-s,  its  distinct  institutions:  and  these  institutions 
aflFected  but  little  the  general  course  of  Spanish  history." — Hume. 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

the  north  Into  Spain,  and,  besides  commanding  the 
best  of  these,  Barcelona,  the  capital  of  Catalonia 
and  chief  city  of  the  East  coast,  possesses  a  good 
harbour  on  the  Mediterranean.  These  advantages, 
together  with  contiguity  to  some  of  the  best 
French  ports,  have  always  given  her  a  large  meas- 
ure of  Importance:  and  when  we  add  the  strik- 
ing degree  of  commercial  activity  Imbibed  by  this 
region  from  the  earliest  of  Its  Invaders,  the 
Phoenicians  and  Carthaginians,  plus  the  native 
Iberic  egoism,  the  result  could  be  none  other 
than  It  Is,   namely,  the   Catalans. 

The  power  of  both  Carthage  and  Rome  was 
most  strongly  felt  on  this  east  coast.  Here  are 
to  be  found  the  ruins  of  the  most  considerable  of 
the  Carthaginian  cities:  and  here,  In  the  modern 
Tarragona,  are  the  remains  of  the  Roman  capital 
of  the  province.  For  a  brief  period  the  Visigoths 
made  Barcelona  their  capital,  but  later  they  held 
the  region  rather  loosely:  and  as  for  the  Mos- 
lems, they  seem  never  to  have  fully  established 
their  sovereignty  In  this  northeast  corner  of  Spain. 
They  took  possession,  to  be  sure,  but  they  were 
soon  obliged  to  defend  their  conquest  against  an 
Invasion  from  southern  France;  and  In  the  end, 
Louis  of  Aqultalne  expelled  the  Arabs,  and  es- 
tablished   here    a    feudal    dependence    of    France. 

,  But  within  twenty-five  years,  one  of  the  lords 
sent  from  Aqultalne  to  rule  this  Spanish  Marche, 

246 


BARCELONA,  VALENCIA 

as  they  called  It,  threw  off  the  authority  of 
France,  and  by  the  beginning  of  the  eleventh  cen- 
tury, the  Independence  and  prosperity  of  Cata- 
lonia were  pretty  well  established.  During  the 
eleventh  and  twelfth  centuries,  the  Catalans  made 
their  state  a  power  of  European  Importance;  un- 
dertaking expeditions  against  neighbouring  king- 
doms, and  arranging  advantageous  alliances  with 
the  independent  cities  of  the  Mediterranean. 

Catalonlan  political  independence  was  lost  through 
two  marriages;  first,  that  of  Ramon  Berenguer 
IIL  (a  descendant  of  the  first  Frankish  counts) 
with  Petronllla,  heiress  to  the  throne  of  Afagon: 
and  second,  that  of  Ferdinand  of  Aragon  with 
Isabella  of  Castile.  The  first,  as  already  said, 
merged  the  fortunes  of  the  maritime  province 
with  those  of  the  equally  powerful  kingdom  of 
Aragon;  and  with  the  second,  her  Interests,  like 
those  of  all  petty  Spanish  states,  were  to  a  de- 
gree swallowed  up  in  the  affairs  of  the  empire. 
Yet  in  a  strict  sense  the  Independence  of  Cata- 
lonia has  never  been  lost.  Although  the  same 
sovereign  ruled  both  Catalonia  and  Aragon,  and 
the  fortunes  of  one  affected  the  other,  the  rights 
and  privileges  of  the  two  states  were  kept  rigidly 
separate,  and  in  later  years,  nowhere  In  Europe, 
except  In  Aragon,  were  popular  rights  more  jeal- 
ously maintained  than  in  Catalonia. 

The    marked    commercial    prosperity    of    Barce- 

247 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

lona,  due  to  the  fact  that  the  Catalans  were  the 
only  people  In  Spain  who  did  not  consider  trade 
a  disgrace,  coupled  with  the  freedom  of  her  in- 
stitutions, strongly  suggest  the  German  Hanseatic 
cities  of  a  later  date.  The  power  of  the  King 
was  strictly  limited,  and,  not  only  did  the  city 
manage  her  own  finances,  and  administer  justice 
according  to  her  own  laws,  but  her  councillors, 
who  were  called  Magnlficos,  had  the  right  to  re- 
main covered  in  the  royal  presence.  Testimony 
to  mediaeval  independence  can  go  no  further,  and 
most  of  these  rights  were  maintained  until  the 
eighteenth   century. 

Yet  it  must  not  be  imagined  that  Catalonia  was 
left  peaceful  In  the  enjoyment  of  her  ancient  privi- 
leges. Frequent  revolts  all  through  her  later  his- 
tory testify  to  constant  resistance  to  a  distant 
authority.  Moreover,  at  times  her  material  pros- 
perity was  seriously  crippled  by  the  affairs  of  Ara- 
gon  or  Spain.  Under  the  unhappy  rule  of  Philip 
IV.,  the  Catalans  threw  off  the  yoke  of  Spain; 
choosing  what  they  hoped  would  prove  a  lesser 
evil,  allegiance  to  France.  Louis  XIII.  hastened 
to  assume  the  title  of  Count  of  Barcelona,  and 
for  a  dozen  years  Catalonia  was  once  more  a 
province  of  France.  Then  as  one  of  the  condi- 
tions of  the  marriage  of  the  Infanta  Maria 
Theresa  with  Louis  XIV.,  the  little  kingdom 
was  given  back  to  Spain. 

248 


BARCELONA,  VALENCIA 

Once  again,  during  the  hostilities  waged  be- 
tween France  and  Germany  over  the  Spanish  suc- 
cession, the  French  occupied  the  province.  With 
the  triumph  of  France  and  accession  of  Philip 
V.  to  the  throne  of  Spain,  Catalonia  was  again 
Spanish,  but  in  an  uprising  which  threatened  to 
unseat  Philip,  the  little  state  went  over  to  his 
rival,  the  Archduke  Charles.  Although  that 
was  the  last  conspicuous  attempt  to  throw  off  the 
yoke  of  Spain,  there  is  still  to  be  found  among 
the  Catalans  a  restlessness  which  leagues  them 
with  every  movement  against  established  authority. 
It  has  always  been  a  hotbed  of  Carlism;  but 
were  Don  Carlos  enthroned,  there  is  probably  no 
province  in  the  peninsula  which  would  more 
quickly  rebel,  unless,  forsooth,  he  should  content 
himself  with  the  crown  of   Catalonia. 

The  architectural  monuments  of  Catalonia  be- 
tray at  once  the  course  of  Its  history.  Where  the 
march  of  later  events  has  not  obliterated  such 
works,  Roman  remains  and  Roman  influence  fur- 
nish a  large  share  of  the  interest.  Later  came 
the  Romanesque,  which  left  a  stronger  impres- 
sion here  than  anywhere  else  In  Spain:  and  both 
the  Romanesque  and  the  Gothic  have  much  In  com- 
mon with  the  monuments  of  the  same  periods  In 
the  neighbouring  cities  of  southern  France.  The 
influence  of  the  East,  which,  in  this  region,  crops 
out  In  many  matters  of  detail,  may  have  been  the 

249 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

result  of  the  short  occupation  of  the  Arabs, 
or  It  may  have  crept  up  the  coast  from  Valencia, 
where  their  tenure  was  much  longer.  But  It  Is 
also  probable  that,  like  the  English  dog-tooth, 
which  It  Is  such  a  surprise  to  find  here,  Saracenic 
windows  and  ornament  may  have  been  Introduced 
by  way  of  the  Intercommunication  of  commerce. 
The  Catalans  early  became  masters  of  the  sea, 
and  Barcelona  has  always  been  the  chief  com- 
mercial port  of  the  peninsula. 

As  one  approaches  Barcelona  from  the  sea,  the 
Castle  of  Monjulch,  which  crowns  the  hill  to  the 
south  of  the  harbour.  Is  at  once  recognized  as  the 
military  key  to  a  very  strong  situation,  and  just 
below  the  Castle  Is  the  fortress  of  Atarazanas. 
The  latter  was  built  by  Jaime  I.,  of  Aragon  (The 
Conqueror)  In  1243,  about  fifty  years  after  the 
union  of  Catalonia  with  that  kingdom.  Although 
so  ancient,  its  stout  walls  still  do  good  ser- 
vice, and,  with  the  Castle,  present  much  of  in- 
terest. 

Within  the  city  the  most  Important  secular 
buildings  are  the  Casa  Conslstorlal,  the  Casa  de 
la  DIsputacIon,  and  the  Casa  Lonja,^  or  Exchange. 
The  Casa  Conslstorlal,  or  Town  Hall,  has  a  poor 
modern  front,  but  the  remainder  of  the  building 
is    Gothic    of    the    fourteenth    century.     Both    the 

^  Casa  Lonja,   meaning   long   room,  came  to  be  applied   in   this 
region  to  Exchanges. 

250 


BARCELONA,  VALENCIA 

Court  and  the  great  Hall  are  good  examples  of 
their  period.  Among  the  archives  preserved  In 
this  building  are  the  ancient  fueros — daws  or 
privileges — to  which  the  kings  of  Catalonia  were 
obliged  to  swear  observance  before  they  were  ad- 
mitted within  the  city  walls. 

The  Casa  de  la  DIsputacIon,  or  Law  Court,  Is 
about  a  hundred  years  later,  and  Is  a  mixture  of 
late  Gothic  with  Plateresque  and  Renaissance 
work.  Much  of  It  Is  still  very  fine,  but  a  great 
deal  has  been  spoiled  by  various  rebulldlngs.  Of 
the  original  Lonja,  built  in  the  latter  half  of  the 
fourteenth  century,  only  the  great  Hall  remains. 
This  consists  of  three  naves,  whose  lofty  flat  cell- 
ing is  carried  by  stilted  seml-clrcular  arches  with 
slender  columns.  The  remainder  of  the  building 
is  In  the  style  of  the  Italian  Renaissance,  and  is 
imposing   and   effective. 

The  old  Palace  opposite  the  Lonja  has  been  so 
much  and  so  badly  repaired  that  it  presents  little  of 
interest  to-day,  but  the  visitor  who  has  the  time,  will 
do  well  to  look  up  a  number  of  the  fine  old  resi- 
dences of  the  rich  Catalonian  merchants  and  no- 
bility. The  fact  that  trade  was  never  held  to  be 
derogatory  among  the  Catalans  as  it  was  with 
the  more  Gothic  Castilians  accounts  for  the  num- 
ber of  merchant's  marks  on  these  houses.  Why 
none  of  these,  or  in  fact  any  of  the  old  monu- 
ments  of  Barcelona   or   Valencia,   have   been   ade- 

251 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

quately  photographed,  is  a  mystery  to  one  who 
makes  even  a  short  stay  In  either  city. 

The  earliest,  and  still  one  of  the  most  Interest- 
ing churches  In  Barcelona,  Is  the  Benedictine  con- 
vent church  of  San  Pablo.  It  dates  from  the 
tenth  century,  and  Is  an  admirable  example  of  a 
cruciform  Romanesque  basilica.  There  are  three 
parallel  apses,  vaulted  with  semi-domes,  and  both 
the  nave  and  transepts  are  covered  with  waggon- 
vaulting.  The  cloister,  which  Is  probably  two 
centuries  later,  like  the  church.  Is  very  tiny,  and 
here  the  eye  is  at  once  struck  by  the  decidedly 
Eastern  character  of  the  sharply  cusped  arches. 
Each  narrow  arch  is  cut  through  the  horizontally 
laid  masonry,  into  three  or  five  foliations. 
The  Arabic  origin  of  this  work  is  evident  at  a 
glance,  and  In  spite  of  its  lack  of  constructive 
value,  this  cloister  is  one  of  the  most  charming 
bits  In  Barcelona.  On  the  exterior  the  cusping  Is 
sharp  and  plain,  but  the  interior  shows  mould- 
ings  and   carvings. 

Of  a  little  later  date  than  San  Pablo,  arc  San 
Pedro  and  Sta.  Ana,  which,  one  after  the  other, 
illustrate  the  growth  in  ability  as  well  as  the 
development  of  style  In  Catalonia.  In  the  first 
we  find  a  dome  supported  by  stout  columns  with 
arches;  and  in  the  other,  ribbed  vaulting  betrays 
the  first  wave  of  the  Gothic  Influence.  But  again, 
in    San    Pedro,    are  seen    sculptured  capitals  which 

252 


BARCELONA,  VALENCIA 

are  neither  Romanesque  nor  Byzantine,  but  Sara- 
cenic. 

Like  all  the  cathedrals  of  this  region,  that 
of  Barcelona  Is  called  La  Seo,  and  barring  Roman 
remains,  La  Seo  at  Barcelona  Is  the  most  Impor- 
tant architectural  monument  In  Catalonia.  It  also 
displays  many  of  the  peculiarities  found  In  Tar- 
ragona, Gerona,  and  other  neighbouring  towns,  as 
well  as  In  other  Barcelonese  churches;  which  pecu- 
liarities are  considered  by  some  to  be  sufficiently 
marked  to  constitute  a  Catalonlan  style.  With 
them  all  there  Is  retained  a  very  strong  feeling  of 
the  Romanesque.  The  size  and  simplicity  of 
piers,  the  boldness  of  vaulting  ribs,  and  the  classi- 
cal spirit  of  carved  capitals  and  mouldings  are 
found  to  a  marked  degree  In  all  this   region. 

Another  striking  peculiarity  Is  the  small  num- 
ber of  piers  used  for  the  support  of  the  nave 
vaults,  with  the  consequent  wide  spaces  between 
them.  The  culmination  of  this  openness  of  effect 
is  reached  at  Gerona,  where  no  aisles  are  left;  one 
splendid  arch  seventy-three  feet  in  span  covering 
the  entire  width  of  the  structure.**^  Here  once 
more  the  Spaniards  aspired  to,  and  achieved,  the 
superlative.  As  far  as  I  am  aware,  this  vault  at 
Gerona  is  the  widest  keystone  vault  In  existence. 
Although  the  skill  displayed  in  such  construction 
is    beyond    question,    and    by    some,    the    grandeur 

3  The  nave  of  Notre  Dame,  Paris,  is  forty-eight  feet  in  width. 

253 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

of  the  result  is  greatly  admired,  there  is  a  feel- 
ing of  bareness,  even  in  these  Catalonlan  Interiors 
in  which  there  are  aisles,  which  to  me  is  far 
from  pleasing.  Multiplicity  of  parts  is  one  of 
the  chief  beauties  of  the  Gothic  style,  and  a  big 
bald  interior,  even  though  it  is  a  marvel  of  pro- 
portions and  constructive  skill,  must  always  ap- 
pear barren   and  cold. 

Owing  to  its  apparent  lack  of  a  roof,  and  a 
late  and  poor  western  fagade,  the  exterior  of  the 
cathedral  at  Barcelona  is  extremely  disappointing. 
Both  walls  and  buttresses  are  quite  without  cor- 
nice or  finish  of  any  kind  at  the  top.  Indeed,  it 
is  probable  that  It  was  the  Intention  to  carry  them 
higher.  But  there  Is  no  sort  of  roof  visible  un- 
til one  climbs  the  towers,*  and  by  looking  down, 
discovers  that  an  outer  sheathing  of  tiles  or  stone 
is  laid  over  the  surface  of  the  vaults.  It  Is  prob- 
able that  a  steep  roof  like  those  of  France  was 
the  original  Intention,  and  possibly  one  may  have 
been  erected  and  destroyed  as  so  often  happened. 
But  whatever  was  its  raison  d'etre  we  have  here 
the  hazardous  result  of  two  stone  roofs  (If  the 
outer  one  is  stone,  as  It  appears)  for  the  arches 
to  carry,  with  a  surface  least  calculated  to  resist 
storms.  Furthermore,  although  in  a  climate  like 
that  of  Barcelona  such  a  roof  may  answer  all 
practical   purposes,   the   effect   from   the   ground   Is 

*A  similar  roofless  appearance  has  already  been  noted  at  Leon. 

254 


BARCELONA,  VALENCIA 

far  from  happy,  and  the  baldness  of  the  walls  Is 
further  accentuated  by  the  fact  that  the  buttresses 
are  an  Internal  rather  than  an  external  feature. 
This  is  also  the  case  In  some  French  churches, 
where,  as  here,  the  buttresses  are  made  to  serve 
as  the  division  walls  between  chapels. 

The  chief  external  features  of  this  church  are 
the  towers  which,  like  those  at  Exeter,  are  car- 
ried up  over  the  ends  of  the  transepts.  As  tow- 
ers they  are  not  remarkable,  but  their  upper 
stages  are  enriched  with  good  Gothic  mouldings 
and  foliations,  and  the  long  slender  windows 
which  fill  the  panels  are  simple  and  elegant  In 
shape  and  proportion.  To  balance  these  towers,  a 
cupola  was  begun  over  the  westernmost  bay  of 
the  nave,  but  as  only  one  stage  was  ever  com- 
pleted. It  makes  no  effect,  Indeed  it  can  scarcely 
be  seen,   from   the  exterior. 

In  the  Interior,  however,  this  cupola,  even  in 
its  unfinished  condition,  seems  to  dominate  the 
church.  In  construction.  It  evidently  started  out 
to  Imitate  the  cupola  at  Tarragona,  which  was 
probably  completed  about  fifty  years  before  this 
church  was  begun.^  Both  cupolas  are  octagons 
with  the  cardinal  sides  longer.  Both  are  sup- 
ported on  the  cardinal  sides  by  open  arches,  and 
the  shorter  sides  are  carried  by  short  arches 
thrown    from    the   shoulders   of   the   main    arches. 

^  Cathedral  at  Barcelona,  begun  1298. 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

The  completed  structure  at  Tarragona  is  most 
effective.  It  is  an  eight-celled  pointed  vault,  with 
pointed  windows  in  each  cell.  The  cupola  at 
Barcelona  was  evidently  expected  to  outdo  the 
earlier  one;  for  the  stage  completed,  an  open 
triforiumt  gallery,  is  a  feature  not  found  at  Tar- 
ragona. If  it  had  been  finished,  the  Barcelona 
example  would  doubtless  have  added  greatly  to  the 
importance  of  the  church,  but  it  is  a  question  if, 
even  now,  the  nave  would  not  be  finer  without 
it.  The  chief  fault  is  its  position.  Impressions 
of  altitude,  or  any  sort  of  a  climax,  should  be 
reserved  for  the  crossing,  or  for  the  position  of 
most  ecclesiastical  consequence.  Here,  almost  over 
the  entrance,  so  splendid  a  cupola  as  this  started 
out  to  be,  could  never  have  resulted  in  anything 
but   an  anti-climax. 

Among  the  beauties  of  this  interior,  and  they 
are  many,  are  Its  great  piers  with  their  bold 
arches,  whose  splendour  atones  in  no  small  degree 
for  their  small  number;  the  subtlety  of  its  light- 
ing, due  to  the  size  and  arrangement  of  windows 
as  well  as  to  the  beauty  of  the  glass;  and  the  rich 
furnishings  both  of  the  Coro  and  the  twenty-four 
altars  which  surround  the  nave  and  choir.  The 
Coro,  as  elsewhere  in  Spain,  is  projected  down 
Into  the  nave,  but  here  we  find  an  entrance  at 
its  west  end,  a  great  improvement  over  the  blank 
wall  which  faces  one  from  the  western  portals  of 

256 


BARCELONA,  VALENCIA 

most  Spanish  churches.  The  cloisters  are  nof 
nearly  so  good  as  those  at  Tarragona;  and,  as 
in  the  church,  the  main  purpose  of  their  walls 
appears  to  be  to  furnish  a  place  for  small  altars, 
three  sides  of  the  cloister  being  surrounded  by 
them. 

The  great  churches  of  Sta.  Maria  del  Mar  and 
Sta.  Maria  del  Pino  are  considered  by  many  to 
vie  with  the  splendours  of  the  cathedral.  In  mat- 
ters of  construction,  and  according  to  Catalonian 
standards,  they  are  certainly  fine;  but  to  a  lover 
of  more  subtly  designed  French  churches  they 
must   appear   somewhat   meagre   and   barren. 

During  the  period  of  Barcelona's  greatest 
prosperity,  when  the  heart  of  the  peninsula  was 
torn  by  the  warfare  of  the  reconquest,  her  port 
was  filled  with  shipping,  and  her  busy  streets  with 
a  motley  throng  drawn  thither  by  the  advantages 
of  her  commerce.  But  the  Catalans  were  not  en- 
tirely given  up  to  money-getting.  Coupled  with 
their  practical  gifts  was  a  decided  predilection  for 
the  gentle  art  of  minstrelsy.  Ford  calls  Barce- 
lona at  this  time  the  Athens  of  the  troubadour. 
Until  1390,  the  Catalan  and  Aragonese  trouba- 
dours resorted  to  the  French  academy  (at  Tou- 
louse), but  at  that  date  a  similar  one  was  founded 
at  Barcelona.  As  further  proof  of  literary  pro- 
clivities, we  find  one  of  the  first  printing  presses 
in  Europe  set  up  here;   and  Barcelona  has  always 

257 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

been  noted  for  the  production  of  fine  and  artistic 
books. 

Another  evidence  of  a  most  un-Spanlsh  spirit 
of  enterprise,  was  an  attempt  made  here,  In  1543, 
to  propel  a  boat  by  steam.  From  all  accounts 
the  trial  was  fairly  successful,  but  lack  of  In- 
terest from  the  King,  Charles  V.,  rendered  It 
fruitless.  Charles  was  111  and  disillusioned,  but  It 
Is  somewhat  startling  to  realize  that  the  prog- 
ress of  the  world  was  possibly  retarded  three 
hundred  years  by  the  royal  gout. 

The  Imperious  spirit  of  Isabella  I.  found  the 
fiery,  rough-tongued  Catalans  little  to  her  liking. 
At  Barcelona,  upon  the  occasion  of  her  first  visit 
after  her  marriage,  she  saw  Ferdinand  not  only 
obliged  to  bargain  with  the  Cortes  for  what  he 
wanted,  but  actually  compelled  to  brook  a  re- 
fusal. "This  realm  Is  not  ours,"  said  the 
Queen,  turning  to  her  husband.  "We  shall 
have  to  come  and  conquer  It."  But  Ferdi- 
nand knew  his  Catalans,  and  not  only  he, 
but  most  of  the  kings  who  succeeded  him,  fre- 
quently spent  months  In  bickering  for  subsidies 
which  they  had  every  right  to  exact.  As  we  have 
seen,  the  Inquisition  was  popular  in  Castile,  but 
in  Catalonia  and  all  along  this  east  coast  it  was 
bitterly  resisted;  another  reason  why  Isabella 
should  dislike  her  husband's  unruly  subjects. 

It  was  at  Barcelona,  however,  that  Ferdinand 
258 


BARCELONA,  VALENCIA 

and  Isabella  received  Columbus  after  his  returit 
from  his  first  voyage.  The  pomp  and  ceremony 
which  attended  this  presentation  of  a  New  World 
to  the  Catholic  King  and  Queen,  even  then  recog- 
nized as  one  of  the  most  significant  events  in  the 
history  of  the  world,  have  been  described  once  for 
all  by  Irving:  "About  the  middle  of  April," 
he  says,  "  Columbus  arrived  at  Barcelona,  where 
every  preparation  had  been  made  to  give  him  a 
solemn  and  magnificent  reception.  As  he  drew 
near  the  city,  many  of  the  youthful  courtiers  and 
hidalgos,  together  with  a  vast  concourse  of  the 
populace,  came  forth  to  meet  and  welcome  him. 
His  entrance  into  this  noble  city  has  been  com-, 
pared  to  one  of  those  triumphs  which  the  Romans 
were  accustomed  to  decree  to  conquerors.  First 
were  paraded  the  Indians,  painted  according  to 
their  savage  fashion,  and  decorated  with  their 
national  ornaments  of  gold.  After  these  were 
borne  various  kinds  of  live  parrots,  together  with 
stuffed  birds  and  animals  of  unknown  species,  and 
rare  plants  supposed  to  be  of  precious  qualities; 
while  great  care  was  taken  to  make  a  conspicuous 
display  of  Indian  coronets,  bracelets,  and  other 
decorations  of  gold,  which  might  give  an  Idea  of 
the  wealth   of  the  newly  discovered  regions. 

"After  this,  followed  Columbus  on  horseback, 
surrounded  by  a  brilliant  cavalcade  of  Spanish 
chivalry.     The     streets     were     almost     Impassable 

259 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

from  the  countless  multitude;  the  windows  and 
balconies  were  crowded  with  the  fair;  the  very 
roofs  were  covered  with  spectators.  It  seemed 
as  if  the  public  eye  could  not  be  sated  with  gaz- 
ing on  these  trophies  of  an  unknown  world;  or 
on  the  remarkable  man  by  whom  it  had  been 
discovered.  There  was  a  sublimity  In  this  event 
that  mingled  a  solemn  feeling  with  the  public 
joy.  It  was  looked  upon  as  a  vast  and  signal 
dispensation  of  Providence  in  reward  for  the 
piety  of  the  monarchs;  and  the  majestic  and  ven- 
erable appearance  of  the  discoverer,  so  different 
from  the  youth  and  buoyancy  generally  expected 
from  roving  enterprise,  seemed  in  harmony  with 
the   grandeur   and  dignity    of  his   achievements. 

"To  receive  him  with  suitable  pomp  and  dis- 
tinction, the  sovereigns  had  ordered  their  thrones 
to  be  placed  In  public,  under  a  rich  canopy  of 
brocade  of  gold,  in  a  vast  and  splendid  salon. 
Here  the  King  and  Queen  awaited  his  arrival, 
seated  In  state,  with  the  Prince  Juan  beside  them, 
and  attended  by  the  dignitaries  of  their  court,  and 
the  principal  nobility  of  the  kingdom.  At  length 
Columbus  entered  the  hall,  surrounded  by  a  bril- 
liant crowd  of  cavaliers  among  whom  he  was 
conspicuous  for  his  stately  and  commanding  per- 
son. A  modest  smile  lighted  up  his  features, 
showing  that  he  enjoyed  the  state  and  glory  In 
which  he  came,  and  as  he  approached,   the  sover- 

260 


Jr7ns  of  Charles  V. 

From  Chapel,  Escorial. 


^^^^^^^ 

fc^        ^>*^s.^ 

m    ---   -       -  --- -- ^™i 

r— — ■! 

f-  V   .J^*>.'    ' 

11% 

^ 

r 

>'MP'.^^^^\ 

^. 

BARCELONA,  VALENCIA 

elgns  arose,  as  If  receiving  a  person  of  the  high- 
est rank.  Bending  his  knees,  he  offered  to  kiss 
their  hands;  but  there  was  some  hesitation  on 
their  part  to  permit  this  act  of  homage.  Rais- 
ing him  In  the  most  gracious  manner,  they  or- 
dered him  to  seat  himself  In  their  presence;  a 
rare  honour  In  this  proud  and  punctilious  court. 

"  At  their  request,  he  now  gave  an  account  of 
the  most  striking  events  of  his  voyage,  and  a 
description  of  the  Islands  discovered.  When  he 
had  finished,  the  sovereigns  sank  on  their  knees, 
and  raising  their  clasped  hands  to  Heaven,  their 
eyes  filled  with  joy  and  gratitude,  poured  forth 
thanks  and  praises  to  God  for  so  great  a  provi- 
dence. All  present  followed  their  example;  a 
deep  and  solemn  enthusiasm  pervaded  that  splen- 
did assembly,  and  prevented  all  common  acclama- 
tions of  triumph.  The  anthem,  Te  Deum  lau- 
damns,  chanted  by  the  choir  of  the  royal  chapel, 
rose  In  full  body  of  sacred  harmony.  Such  was 
the  solemn  and  pious  manner  In  which  the  bril- 
liant court  of  Spain,  celebrated  this  sublime 
event." 

Another  stately  ceremonial  at  Barcelona  was 
the  general  assembly,  or  chapter,  of  the  order  of 
the  Golden  Fleece,  held  in    1519,^  by  Charles  V. 

6  It  was  while  in  Barcelona  at  this  time  that  Charles  received 
news  of  his  election  to  the  Imperial  throne  of  Germany,  an  event 
which  must  have  contributed  not  a  little  to  the  splendour  of  the 
above  ceremonial. 

261 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

in  the  choir  of  the  cathedral.  The  stalls  of  the 
choir,  like  those  of  the  chapel  of  St.  George  at 
Windsor  with  their  shields  of  the  Knights  of  the 
Garter,  still  bear  upon  their  backs  the  arms  of 
the  knights  of  this  order.  For  this  occasion  the 
already  rich  walls  were  hung  with  tapestries  and 
velvets,  and  a  number  of  foreign  kings,  besides 
the  chief  grandees  of  Spain,  and  the  flower  of 
the  nobility  of  Flanders  were  in  attendance.  This 
mediaeval  order  of  knighthood  was  founded  for 
the  protection  of  the  Church  by  Philip  the  Good 
of  Burgundy,  from  whom  Charles  was  directly 
descended;  and  the  house  of  Hapsburg  has  always 
inherited  its  control.  The  chapter  was  limited 
to  thirty-one  knights,  recruited  from  among  the 
friends  or  followers  of  the  Hapsburg  kings;  and 
their  sumptuous  costumes  and  regalia  must  have 
made  a  fine  show  in  the  old  cathedral  at  Barce- 
lona. 

First  there  was  a  long  robe  of  deep  red  velvet 
lined  with  white  tafFetas.  Over  it  was  a  flowing 
mantle  of  purple  velvet  lined  with  white  satin, 
and  richly  trimmed  with  embroidery  which 
sparkled  with  fire  stones  and  steels.  On  the 
white  satin  hem  was  embroidered  in  gold  the 
motto,  Je  Vay  empris.  There  was  a  cap  of  pur- 
ple velvet  embroidered  in  gold,  and  shoes  and 
stockings  of  red.  The  insignia  of  the  order  was 
a  pendant  fleece,  in  gold,  with  the  head  and  hoofs 

262 


BARCELONA,  VALENCIA 

hanging.  This  emblem  may  have  been  chosen  with 
some  reference  to  the  Greek  story  of  Jason^  but  it  Is 
more  probable  that  the  Intention  was  to  honour 
the  commerce  of  the  Low  Countries,  In  which  wool 
played  so  Important  a  part.  The  Insignia  was 
usually  suspended  from  a  collar  of  enamelled  flint 
stones  and  rays.  This  collar  with  the  pendant 
fleece  Is  often  found  surrounding  the  arms  of 
Charles   V. 

On  his  way  to  his  coronation  at  Brussels, 
Philip  IL  made  a  royal  progress  which  was  made 
as  splendid  as  the  Importance  of  the  occasion  de- 
manded, through  Aragon  and  Catalonia.  At  this 
time  Philip  was  extremely  popular  In  Spain.  He 
was  Spanish  born,  which  his  father  had  not  been, 
and  far  more  Spanish  In  type  than  the  more 
German  Charles,  who  had  never  been  greatly  be- 
loved by  his  Spanish  subjects.  Marked  enthusi- 
asm, therefore,  welcomed  the  approaching  acces- 
sion of  the  young  King.  In  the  bay  of  Rosas, 
a  little  to  the  north  of  Barcelona,  Philip  was 
saluted  by  Andrea  Doria,  the  famous  Genoese 
admiral  of  the  Papal,  French,  and  Imperial 
navies,  with  a  fleet  of  fifty-five  galleys.  The 
honour  extended  to  Philip  at  this  time,  here  and 
elsewhere,  marked  him  as  the  first  among  the 
kings  of  Europe,  a  distinction  first  achieved  by 
Charles  V.,  and  enjoyed  for  possibly  a  hundred 
years  by  his  successors  in  Spain. 

:?63 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

After  the  turbulence  of  the  War  of  Succession, 
the  Catalans  gave  Philip  V.  a  warm  welcome 
when  he  came  to  Barcelona  to  receive  their  oaths 
of  allegiance.  It  need  scarcely  be  said  that  the 
young  King  stood  greatly  In  need  of  funds,  and 
that  the  Catalans  bargained  for  a  full  return  in 
the  way  of  privileges  before  they  granted  his 
demands.  But  this  visit  to  Barcelona  was  not 
entirely  prosaic,  for  it  was  timed  by  Philip  to 
welcome  his  bride  who  came  by  sea  from  Naples. 
The  personal  charm  and  really  great  ability  of  the 
young  Queen,  Marie  Louise  of  Savoy,  have  al- 
ready been  touched  upon,  and  as  Philip  likewise  pos- 
sessed many  attractions,  the  pair  were  soon  deeply 
in  love  with  each  other.  Preparations  were  at 
once  under  way  for  the  royal  progress  of  the 
young  couple  to  Madrid,  but  news  of  a  revolu- 
tion In  Naples,  then  claimed  as  a  dependence  of 
Spain,  demanded  the  King's  presence,  and  to  the 
bitter  grief  of  both,  the  Queen  had  to  proceed 
alone  to  her  new  capital. 

Twice  within  comparatively  modern  times, 
(1705-1808)  Barcelona  has  been  taken  by  a  foreign 
army.  The  first  bombardment  and  capitulation,  was 
an  Incident  of  the  War  of  the  Succession,  and 
the  second  discomfiture  was  the  outcome  of  a 
stratagem  planned  by  Napoleon.  In  both  In- 
stances the  possession  of  the  Castle  of  Monjulch 
decided  the     immediate  result,  but  In  neither  case 

264 


BARCELONA,  VALENCIA 

was  the  foreign  occupation  of  the  city  a  long 
one.  Then,  as  now  and  always,  the  determining 
factor  in  the  fate  of  Barcelona,  was  the  Cata- 
lonian  spirit,  which  brooked  no  tampering  with 
her   rights   or  her   advancement. 

•  •  •  •  • 

On  the  East  coast,  second  in  importance  to 
Barcelona,  is  Valencia,  the  capital  and  chief  city 
of  the  province  of  the  same  name.  It  was  prob- 
ably founded  by  the  Phoenicians,  and  its  luxuriant 
vegetation  rendered  this  region  a  rich  prize  to 
each  of  the  conquerors  of  Spain;  but  it 
was  the  Moslems  who  made  it  the  garden 
of  the  peninsula.  By  a  system  of  fertiliza- 
tion and  irrigation  which  they  inaugurated, 
the  soil  is  still  made  to  yield  as  many  as  six 
crops  in  one  season,  and  the  alfalfa  is  often 
mowed  as  many  as   fourteen  or  fifteen  times. 

This  amazing  luxuriance  has  given  the  key- 
note to  the  history  of  Valencia.  It  is  tropical 
and  passionate,  and  the  aspect  of  its  streets  is 
distinctly  oriental,  while  the  most  striking  episode 
in  its  history,  the  lordship  of  the  Cid,  which  is 
also  one  of  the  most  picturesque  incidents  in  the 
annals  of  Spain,  is  in  subtle  harmony  with  its 
romantic  atmosphere. 

The  lords  of  Saragossa  had  long  cast  covetous 
eyes  toward  the  rich  southern  state,  and  not  the 
least  important  of  the  hostilities  conducted  for  them 

265 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

by  the  CId  were  those  which  menaced  Valencia. 
The  Moslem  King  of  Valencia  finally  appealed  to 
Alfonso  of  Castile,  with  the  result  that  Valencia 
became  subject  to  the  Christian  King,  agreeing  to 
pay  a  large  subsidy  in  return  for  his  protection. 
The  death  of  the  Valencian  King,  in  1085,  left 
the  province  in  Alfonso's  hands;  and  then  we  find 
the  Christian  King  conducting  a  double-faced  bit 
of  intrigue  quite  worthy  of  the  Cid.  The  King 
of  Saragossa,  Moctadir,  now  appeared  as  a  pur- 
chaser of  Valencia,  and,  although  Alfonso  was  in 
receipt  from  that  city  of  the  large  sums  which 
were  the  price  of  his  protection,  he  accepted  with 
alacrity  the  one  hundred  thousand  pieces  of  gold 
offered  by  Moctadir.  But  Valencia  was  also  a 
most  convenient  piece  of  property  to  offer  the 
abject  Yahia,  the  son  and  successor  of  his  old 
friend  and  host,  Al-Mamun,^  in  exchange  for  the 
more  coveted  Toledo;  and  that  weak  kingling 
was  soon  taking  his  mournful  way  to  the  city  by 
the  sea,  despised  alike  by  the  Toledans  whom  he 
had  abandoned,  and  the  Valencians  who  saw  in 
him  a  weak  tool  of  Alfonso.  Indeed,  the  power 
of  Yahia  was  maintained  in  Valencia  by  an  army 
of  Castilian  mercenaries.  With  the  recall  of  this 
army,  therefore,  by  its  need  elsewhere,  Yahia 
found  himself  threatened  with  expulsion  by  his 
new    subjects,    while    at    the    same  time    the    city 

7  See  Toledo,  pages  238-239,  Vol.  I. 
266 


BARCELONA,  VALENCIA 

was    threatened    by    Saragossa.       In     despair    he 
turned  to  the  CId,  and  the  plot  moved  merrily  on. 

The  Cid's  response  was  immediate  and  quite 
in  character.  Upon  condition  of  admission  within 
the  walls  of  Valencia,  he  promised  to  support 
Yahia.  But  at  the  same  time  he  sent  assurances 
to  both  Saragossa  and  Toledo:  to  the  first  that 
he  was  acting  entirely  in  the  interest  of  the  Mos- 
lem King;  and  to  the  second  that  the  honour  of 
Castile  was  his  first  consideration,  and  that  he 
should  hold  Valencia  subject  to  Alfonso.  Valen- 
cia was  then  made  headquarters  by  the  enterpris- 
ing freebooter,  for  hostilities  in  various  directions, 
and  It  was  not  long  before  he  was  in  receipt  of 
tribute  from  nine  different  cities,  aggregating 
three   hundred  thousand   pieces  of  gold  yearly. 

But  so  much  power  was  not  safe  even  in  a 
loyal  subject,  and  the  fealty  of  the  CId  was  certainly 
open  to  doubt;  so  we  find  Alfonso  preparing  a 
monster  expedition,  whose  purpose  was  its  abate- 
ment, in  which  he  secured  the  co-operation  of 
both  Pisa  and  Genoa.  Then  the  CId  left  Va- 
lencia to  defend  herself  as  best  she  could,  while 
he  marched  up  into  Castile,  where  he  laid  waste 
many  cities.  Alfonso's  recall  to  the  defence  of 
his  own  kingdom  left  Pisa  and  Genoa  to  extri- 
cate themselves  from  a  hazardous  position  as 
best  they  could,  and  in  the  end  Valencia  was 
abandoned  to  the  mercy  of  the  CId. 

267 


BUILDERS  OF  SPAIN 

With'  the  appearance  of  his  army  before  its 
walls,  the  miserable  Yahia  was  murdered  by  a 
hostile  faction  within  them,  and  the  city  was 
given  up  to  the  horrors  of  disorder  and  famine. 
The  siege  lasted  a  year  and  was  conducted  with 
the  utmost  ferocity,  prisoners  being  burned  alive 
each  day  within  sight  of  the  walls.  Desperate 
appeals  were  sent  In  many  directions,  but  relief 
came  not,  and  with  Its  conquest  the  CId  pro- 
claimed himself  free  and  Independent  sovereign 
of  Valencia.  This  occurred  In  1094,  when  the 
great  warrior  had  only  five  more  years  to  live. 
It  was  the  period  of  Almoravldan  Invasion,  and 
African  armies  appeared  from  time  to  time  be- 
neath the  walls  of  Valencia,  but  during  his  life- 
time, and  for  three  years  after,  they  were  kept 
at  bay.  Then,  In  1102,  when  It  was  recognized 
as  Impossible  longer  to  hold  the  place  against 
them,  a  safe  retreat  was  effected  by  placing  the  body 
of  the  dead  champion  on  his  almost  equally  famous 
war-horse,  Bableca,  which  was  made  to  head  the 
procession  of  evacuation.  Such  was  the  terror 
inspired  by  the  prowess  of  the  hero  that  even  his 
lifeless  body  Is  said  to  have  caused  the  Moslems 
to  fall  back,  opening  a  path  for  his  followers 
into  the  north.  A  further  most  striking  manifes- 
tation of  the  power  of  a  great  personality  Is 
found  In  the  fact  that  the  dominion  of  the  Cid, 
even  though  so  brief  and  so  grievous,  still  lends 

268 


BARCELONA,  VALENCIA 

Valencia  her  chief  title  to  distinction;  the  city  to- 
day  being   commonly  known   as  Valencia   del   CId. 

The  Christian  reconquest  of  Valencia,  was  ac- 
complished by  Jaime,  the  Conqueror,  who  In 
1238  made  It  tributary  to  Aragon.  But  as  with 
Catalonia,  a  good  degree  of  Independence  was 
maintained.  Indeed,  the  three  states  formed  a 
triangle  distinguished  by  a  mutually  jealous  pres- 
ervation of  Individual  rights.  Much  of  the  his- 
tory of  Valencia,  therefore.  Is  a  repetition  of  that 
of  the  other  two  states.  Charles  V.,  after  his 
bitter  experiences  at  Saragossa  and  Barcelona,  de- 
clined to  go  to  Valencia.  His  plea,  which  was 
doubtless  true,  was  that  he  had  not  time.  But 
as  a  consequence,  the  Valenclans  refused  to  recog- 
nize him.  At  another  time  both  Valencia  and 
Catalonia  were  deeply  affronted  that  precedence 
was  given  to  Saragossa  In  point  of  time  In  the 
visit   of  a  new  king. 

We  hear  comparatively  little  of  the  Inquisition 
in  Catalonia,  but  In  both  Aragon  and  Valencia 
it  was  bitterly  resisted.  In  Saragossa  an  Inquisi- 
tor was  murdered  before  the  altar  of  La  Seo; 
and  in  Valencia  the  Institution  of  the  Holy  Office 
produced  a  revolution  which  cost  hundreds  of 
lives.  Then,  with  the  nominal  Christianizing  of 
the  entire  population,  the  tumult  died  down;  and 
it  was  not  until  the  purse  of  Philip  III.  stood 
in   urgent   need   of   replenishing,   that   the   persecu- 

269 


BUILDERS   OF  SPAIN 

tion  of  Moors  upon  suspicion  finally  ruined  Va- 
lencia. But  even  after  that  drain,  there  remained 
sufficient  of  her  old  spirit  for  the  Cortes  to  make 
a  stiff  fight  against  what  they  considered  Illegal 
procedures  of  Philip  IV.  In  the  end,  however, 
the  victory  lay  with  the  King,  who  finished  the 
business   by   destroying   the   power    of   the    Cortes. 

A  final  flare  of  Valenclan  vigour  Is  found  In  the 
bold  repulse  of  the  French  during  the  Peninsular 
War.  Like  the  Saragossans,  the  Valenclans  were 
totally  unprepared,  but  within  a  few  hours  the 
French  had  lost  two  thousand  men.  Valencia  was 
not  worth  so  heavy  a  cost,  and  a  retreat  was 
ordered.  Within  recent  years  the  material  pros- 
perity of  Valencia  has  greatly  improved,  and 
to-day  the  city  is  a  favourite  resort  for  rich 
Madrilenos,  but  for  many  years  Its  fruitful  plains 
were  a  dusty  desert,  and  the  city  broken-down 
and  poor. 

Except  for  macadamized  streets,  the  aspect  of 
Valencia  to-day  Is  strikingly  mediaeval.  The  city 
retains  the  most  of  Its  old  walls  and  two  superb 
gates.  The  streets  are  narrow  and  eastern,  and 
there  are  many  curious  and  fine  old  houses.  The 
three  more  Important  monuments,  however,  are 
Gothic,  and  belong  to  the  Christian  period.  The 
first  of  these  Is  the  cathedral,  here,  also,  called 
La  Seo.  The  foundation  of  the  structure  Is  more 
than   thirty  years   earlier  than   that   of  the   cathe- 

270 


BARCELONA,  VALENCIA 

dral  at  Barcelona,  and  one  of  the  transepts  has 
a  superb  Romanesque  doorway,  enriched  with  dog- 
tooth moulding  whose  purity  is  not  exceeded  in 
England.  But  the  more  conspicuous  portions  of 
the  church  are  much  later  in  style  and  date. 

The  general  plan  is  similar  to  those  of  most 
of  the  churches  on  this  east  coast,  and  here,  as 
at  Tarragona,  the  cupola  is  placed  over  the  cross- 
ing. As  the  octagonal  walls  of  this  cupola,  with 
striking  enrichments  of  Gothic  windows  and 
tracery,  are  carried  up  two  full  stages  above  the 
roof  of  the  church,  it  forms  one  of  the  most 
conspicuous  landmarks  of  Valencia.  In  spite  of 
sixteen  repetitions  of  the  same  feature  (two 
nearly  identical  windows  filling  each  face)  and  a 
certain  thinness  of  style,  this  cupola  has  consider- 
able charm.  Much  of  the  lower  walls  on  the 
exterior  are  hidden  by  contiguous  houses,  and  the 
entire  interior  of  the  church  is  pretty  thoroughly 
overlaid  with  late  and  tawdry  ornament.  Be- 
yond the  features  mentioned,  therefore,  the  build- 
ing   does    not   present   much   of    interest. 

The  second  monument  of  importance  is  the 
Campanile,  the  Michalete  or  MIguelete,  which 
possibly  should  be  considered  a  part  of  the  cathe- 
dral. It  is  placed  against  the  northwest  corner 
of  the  west  front  of  that  structure.  Like  the 
cupola,  it  Is  octagonal,  and,  curiously  enough,  it 
touches  the  church  at  one  of  its  own  angles.    The 

271 


BUILDERS   OF   SPAIN 

eight  sides,  with  buttresses  at  the  angles,  are  car- 
ried up,  practically  without  ornament,  for  three 
stages,  and  even  In  the  fourth  and  final  stage  the 
enrichment  Is  confined  to  Its  top  half,  where 
crockets  and  tracery  surround  the  pointed  pedi- 
ments which  enclose  the  plain  slightly  pointed 
windows.  The  effect  Is  strange,  yet  not  alto- 
gether unpleasing,  and  whatever  else  the  Mlcha- 
lete  may  lack,  It  certainly  possesses  a  marked  In- 
dividuality. The  tower  takes  Its  name  from  the 
fact  that  Its  bells  we're  first  hung  on  the  feast 
of  St.   Michael. 

The  third,  and  possibly  the  finest,  building  In 
Valencia  Is  the  Gothic  Lonja.  It  Is  a  superb 
specimen  of  late  Spanish  work  In  that  style,  hav- 
ing also  a  distinct  Individuality  In  Its  composition 
and  details.  The  main  divisions  of  the  fagade 
display  the  utmost  disregard  of  symmetry,  yet 
the  balance  of  parts  results  in  great  dignity,  as 
well  as  extreme  picturesqueness.  The  portals  are 
fine,  and  the  splendid  row  of  trefoiled  windows 
which  crowns  the  left  end.  Is  a  feature  of  strik- 
ing distinction.  The  unique  battlements  form  a 
most  picturesque  finish  to  this  fine  old  Exchange, 
and  the  great  Hall  within,  with  Its  spirally  fluted 
shafts.  Is  really  magnificent. 

A  few  picturesque  bridges  and  the  many  inter- 
esting old  houses  already  mentioned,  complete  the 
monumental    attractions    of    Valencia.      They    are 

272 


BARCELONA,  VALENCIA 

not  many,  and  In  comparison  with  those  of  other 
Spanish  cities  of  her  one-time  rank,  they  are  of 
only  secondary  Importance.  Her  history,  like- 
wise, presents  little  of  moment  in  the  sum  total 
of  the  affairs  of  Spain.  With  a  greater  degree 
of  Isolation,  and  a  longer  Moslem  occupation 
than  any  other  city  In  Spain,  the  pervasive  atmos- 
phere of  Valencia  to-day  Is  necessarily  distinc- 
tively Saracenic.  Yet  even  here  the  undercurrent 
of  life  has  always  been  Spanish;  a  fact  proved  by 
the  city's  long  preservation  of  Individuality,  and 
by  that  last  flash  of  Independence  which,  even  in 
her  period  of  decay,  repelled  the  army  of  Napo- 
leon. It  Is  true  that  Spain  has  not  a  monopoly 
of  these  qualities,  but  to  a  greater  extent  than 
anywhere  else  In  Europe,  IndivIduaHty  and  Inde- 
pendence have  always  been  recognized  as  the  dis- 
tinguishing characteristics  of  the  mass  of  the  pop- 
ulation, that  which  clings  to  the  soil.  Not  only 
Valencia,  but  every  city  In  Spain,  has  been 
moulded  to  a  greater  or  less  degree  by  these 
qualities,  and  In  spite  of  Roman,  Saracenic,  and 
European  domination  and  Influence,  It  Is  this 
Spanlshness  which  is  the  chief  charm  of  the  pen- 
insula to-day. 


273 


INDEX 

Abbas, Volume    I,    92,    284 

Abd-al-Aziz, Volume   I,  67;    Volume  II    40-41 

Abdul-Abbas, Volume  I,  93 

Abd-al-Rahman  I.,     .     .     .     Volume  I,  93,  96-99,  229,  283-298 

III.,     ....     Volume  I,  96,  230;   Volume  II,   1-14,  48 

Abencerrages, Volume  II,  123,  124 

Abu-Abdillah, See    Boabdil 

Abu  Said, Volume  II,  68,  111-113 

Adonis,  Festival  of, Volume  II,  37 

JEgeans, Volume,  I,  2 

African  Kings,  The,  Volume  I,  90,  99-102,  108-110,  247;  Vol- 
ume II,  30,  54-63,  87-131,  225-226 

Peoples, Volume  I,  2,  3,  4,  5,  108-117 

Ajimiez  Windows,     .     .     .     Volume  I,  108;  Volume  II,  59,  104 

Al-Abu, Volume  II,  139-140 

Alans, Volume  I,  26,  204 

Albayzin, Volume  II,  90,  117,  125,  126,  134,  139 

Mosque, Volume    II,    119,    I34 

Alberoni,  Cardinal, Volume  I,  181 

Alcala,  University  of,     . Volume  II,  135 

Alcantara,  Bridge  at, Volume    I,    21,    23 

Bridge  of,  at  Toledo,     .      .      .     Volume  I,  22,  217,  232,  243 

Alexandrian    Library, Volume    I,    68 

Alfonso  II.    (The  Chaste)      .      .     Volume  II,  172-173,   175,   178 

(El  Batallador,  of  Aragon)      .      .      .     Volume  II,  186,  227 

III.  (El  Magno) Volume  II,   175 

VI.  (of  Leon  and  Castile)  Volume  I,  100,  loi,  119-121,  238- 
241,  243-245,  249,  268;   Volume  II,  52,  53,  55,   148, 

184-186,  193,  266-267 

VIII.  (of  Castile)     Volume  I,  123,  248;  Volume  II,  195-197 

^75 


INDEX 

Alfonso  IX.  (of  Leon  and  Castile)  ....  Volume  I,  121 
X.  (El  Sabio)  Volume  I,  124,  125,  268;  Volume  II,  66,  92 
Infante  (Brother  of  Isabella  I.)      .      .     Volume  I,  127,  128 

Tomb  of, Volume  II,  205 

XII., Volume    I,    194,    195 

XIII., Volume   I,    195,    196 

Al-Hakem  I., Volume  I,  229-231,  300-304 

II., Volume  I,  96,  99;  Volume  II,  14-23 

Library  of,     .      .     Volume  I,  99;  Volume  II,  15,  16,  27 

Alhambra,     Volume  I,  no,  in,  162,  256;  Volume  II,  58,  86,  89, 

90,  93,  95,  loi-lio,  III,  117,  121-122,  130,  132,  136, 

138,   143-146 

Algibes,   Plaza  de  Los, Volume  II,  132 

Hall  of  Ambassadors,     ....     Volume  II,  109,  121,  133 

Hall  of  Two  Sisters, Volume  II,  109 

Mosque  of, Volume  II,  no,  119,  141 

Ornament  of, Volume  II,  104-109 

Palace  of  Charles  V., Volume  II,   143-144 

Puerta  de  Justicia, Volume  II,  91,   109 

Siete  Suelos,     ........     Volume  II,  132 

de  Vino, Volume  II,   109 

Roofs   of, Volume   II,    104 

Tower  of  Comares,     ....     Volume  II,  109,  124,   144 

Windows, Volume    II,    104 

Al-Magreb, Volume     I,     59 

Al-M'akkari,  Volume  I,  69,  228,  299;  Volume  II,  2,  22,  45,  50,  121 
Al-Mamun,  ....  Volume  I,  120,  238;  Volume  II,  266 
Al-Mansur,  .  .  .  Volume  I,  96;  Volume  II,  23-29,  178,  182 
Almohades,  Volume  I,  102,  109;  Volume  II,  30,  56-63,  87,  88 
Almoravides,     .     Volume  I,  102,  109;  Volume  II,  54-56,  87,  268 

Al-Nazer, Volume  II,  95-97 

Alpine   Race, Volume  I,   14 

Al-Shammas, Volume  I,  301 

Alva,  Duke  of, Volume  I,  158,  271 

276 


INDEX 

Al-Zagal, Volume     II,     126-128 

Al-Zarah  Tarif, Volume    I,    62 

Amedeo   I., Volume    I,    193-194 

Amelia  of  Saxony   (Queen  of  Charles  III.)      .     Volume  I,   184 

America, Volume    I,    153,    256 

Amiens, Volume  II,  7Z,  188 

Amru, Volume  I,  230-232,  300 

Andalusia,     Volume  I,  46,  93,  166,  169,  285;  Volume  II,  16,  34, 

45,  46,  S2>,  55,  83,  138,  140 
Andalusians,  The,  .  .  Volume  I,  122,  123;  Volume  II,  34.  45 
Anne  (known  as,  of  Austria;  daughter  of  Philip  III.)     Volume 

I,  167 
of  Austria  (4th  Queen  of  Philip  II.)      .     .     Volume  I,  160 
of  Neuberg  (Queen  of  Charles  II.)      .     Volume  I,  177,  181 
Aosta,  Duke  of.     See  Amedeo  I. 

Arab  Mechanics, Volume    I,    75,    114 

Philosophers, Volume   I,    75,    114 

Writers,     Volume  I,  x,  75,  106,  114,  281;  Volume  II,  43-46 
Arabs,     Volume  I,  VII,  VIII,  45,  58-89,  90-117,  124,  225;  Volume 

II,  46,  47,  50,  84-87 

Syrian,     .     .     .     Volume  I,   104,  287,  289;   Volume  II,  42 

Arabesques,     Volume  I,  72,  Jz,  87,  247;  Volume  II,  29,  58,  103, 

104-106,  108 

Arabia, Volume  I,  67,  69,  71 

Arabian  Empire, Volume  I,  58,  90 

Aragon,     Volume  I,  128-130,  139-140,  145,  149;  Volume  II,  223- 

244,  245,  247,  248,  263,  269 

Aragonese   Plateresque, Volume   II,  243-244 

Arches,     Volume  I,  83,  237,  246,  297;  Volume  II,  20,  94,  95,  103 
Composite,     ....     Volume  I,  83,  108;  Volume  II,  103 

Flamboyant, Volume   I,   82 

Horseshoe,     Volume  I,  82,  108,  237,  246;  Volume  II,  20,  103 

Pointed, Volume  I,  82;  Volume  II,  103 

Round, Volume  I,  21,  82;  Volume  II,  103 


INDEX 

Architecture,    Baroque, Volume   I,    178,    195 

Byzantine, Volume  I,  83,  85,  131,  133,  180 

Christian, Volume    I,    131-132 

Churrigueresque,     Volume  I,  195,  257;  Volume  II,  222,  241 
Churrigueresque  Renaissance,     ....     Volume    I,    132 

Ecclesiastical, Volume    I,    134 

Gothic,  Volume  I,  131,  132,  136,  137,  149-151.  245-2^6,  249- 
257,  261,  263;  Volume  II,  71-74,  79-80,  83,  141,  143, 
188-190,   199-203,  205,  213,  215,  241,  249,   25T,  252, 

270-272 
Greco-Roman,     Volume  I,  163,  178,  268;  Volume  II,  221,  242 

Greco-Roman   Renaissance, Volume   I,    132 

Plateresque,     Volume  I,  132,  151,  163,  268;   Volume  TI,  78, 

80,  190,  191,  202 
Plateresque-Gothic,     .      .     .     Volume   I,    132,    150-151,   255 
Plateresque-Renaissance,    Volume  I,  132,  150-151,  255;   Vol- 
ume II,  78,   191 
Renaissance,     Volume  I,  131,  149-151,  161,  162,  263,  264,  268; 
Volume  II,  78,  79-80,  81,  83,  141-143,  166,  203,  251 
Roman,     ......     Volume  I,  21-23,  So,  81,  82,  132 

Romanesque,     Volume  I,  131,  136;  Volume  II,  178,  179,  183- 

184,  213,  249,  252,  253,  271 

Romano-Byzantine, Volume    I,    132 

Russian, Volume    I,    86 

Saracenic,  Volume  I,  75-89,  107- in,  151,  233-237,  245,  246, 
247,  250,  287-288,  289,  291-293,  295-298;  Volume  II, 
5-10,   15,   18-21,  27-29,  S7-6o,  66-67,  79-80,  83,   102, 

240,  252-253 
Secular  and  Domestic,     Volume  I,  137,  161-163;  Volume  II, 

103 
Spanish,     .     Volume  I,  8,  9,  10,  131-138,  251;  Volume  II,  74 

Visigothic, Volume  I,  50,   132 

Arfe,    Enrique, Volume   I,   256 

Arians, Volume   I^  27,   28,   45 

^78 


INDEX 

Arianism, Volume  I,  27,  33-37 

Armour,  Arabian, Volume   I,    113 

Arms  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,     .      .      .     Volume  I,   261-262 

Leon,  Castile,  and  Aragon, Volume  I,  262 

Artesonado, Volume  II,  104 

Assis,  Don  Francisco  d', Volume  I,  192,  193 

Assyria, Volume   I,   71,   77,   82 

Asturias,  The,     Volume  I,  48,  118,   119,     120;    Volume    II,    48, 

172,  175 

Athanagild, Volume  I,  29,  31,  205,  206,  236,  240 

Atlas  Peoples, Volume  I,  6 

Augustus,     ....     Volume  I,  18,  283,  196;  Volume  II,  223 
Aulnoy,   Madame  d',     Volume   I,  270-278;    Volume   II,   152-153, 

Auto  de  Fe, Volume  II,  76,  135,  163,  221 

Auvergne, Volume    I,    136 

Avila, Volume    I,    137 

Ayesha, Volume    II,    123-126 

Axarafe, Volume    II,    44 

Az-Zahira   (Cordova), Volume  II,  25,  26,  29 

Az-Zahra  (Cordova),       ....     Volume  II,  4,  9,  10,  15,  29 

Baddo, Volume    I,    37 

Badis, Volume  II,  84,  86 

Baetica, Volume  II,  36 

Baeza, Volume   I,    104 

Bagdad, Volume  I,  92,  305 

Balearic  Isles, Volume  I,   129;    Volume  II,  230 

Bantu    Peoples, Volume    I,    3 

Barbara  of  Braganza  (Queen  of  Ferdinand  VI),    Volume  I,  184 
Barcelona,     .     Voluyne  I,  27,  179;  Volume  II,  234,  246,  247-265 

Atarazanas  Fortress  of, Volume  II,  250 

Casa  Consistorial, Volume   II,  250,  251 

Casa   Disputacion, Volume    II,   250-251 

Casa   Lonja,    ..,,...    ..,    ...    Volume   II,   250-251 


INDEX 

Barcelona,  Cathedral  (La  Seo),     .     Volume  II,  189,  253-257,  262 

Cupola, Volume    II,    255-256 

Roof, Volume    II,   254-255 

Towers, Volume   II,  255 

Monjuich,   Castle  of, Volume   II,  250,  264 

Palace, Volume    II,    251 

Sta.    Ana, Volume    II,    252 

Sta,  Maria  del  Mar, Volume  II,  257 

Sta.  Maria  del  Pino, Volume  II,  257 

San  Pablo, Volume  II,  252 

San  Pedro, Volume  II,  252 

Basilican    Mosques, Volume    I,    79 

Basilicas,  .     Volume  I,  24,  77,  78,  83,  246;  Volume  II,  182,  252 

Battlements,  Flame,  Stepped,  or  Persian,   .     Volume  I,  109,  298 

Weathered,     ....     Volume  I,  109;  Volume  II,  57,  59 

Bayonne, .      .      .     Volume   I,   188 

Beauvais, Volume     II,     189 

Beithar, Volume    II,    loi 

Belax,  of  Red  King, Volume  II,  68-69 

Belem  (Portugal)   Convent  at, Volume  I,  11 

Beltraneja,  La,  See  Juana, 

Ben  Sahl, Volume  II,  47 

Berbers,  .     Volume  I,  2,  6,  59,  60,  91,  95,  98-99,  102,  109,  110, 
III,  115,  247,  290,  309;   Volume  II,  27,  30,  47,  87, 

102,  103,  224-227 
Berenguela  (of  Castile),  .     Volume  I,  123;  Volume  II,  186,  196 

198,  217,  219 

Bernard   of   Cluny, Volume   I,   241 

Bernardo  del  Carpio, Volume  II,  171-173 

Berruguete, Volume    I,    256 

Bivar,  Rodrigo  del,  See  The  Cid 

Blanche  of  Bourbon,     .     Volume  I,  125,  258,  259;  Volume  II,  67 

204,  21S 
Boabdil, Volume  II,    124- 131 

;28o 


INDEX 

Bonaparte,   Joseph, .     Volume   I,    i88,    189 

Napoleon,  See  Napoleon 

Borgogna Volume   I,  256 

Bosporus, Volume    I,    i 

Boston,  Trinity  Church, Volume  I,   136,  214 

Portrait  Don  Carlos  Baltasar  at,  .      .      .      .     Volume  I,  173 
Bourbons,  The,  Volume  I,  178-196;  Volume  II,  151,  165,  166-170 

Bourbon,   Due   de, Volume   I,   270 

Brachycephalic  Traits, Volume   I,    14 

Brick-work,   Volume  I,  no,  237,  246;  Volume  II,  58,  59,  83,  103, 

241-242 

Bronze  Work,   Saracenic, Volume   I,   113 

Brunelleschi, Volume  215 

Brunhilda, Volume  I,  29,  30 

Buen  Retiro  (Madrid),      .     Volume  I,  178;  Volume  II,  154-155, 

167 

Bull  Fights, Volume  II,  158-161 

Burgos,     .     Volume  I,  120,  128;  Volume  II,  177,  186,  192-21 1,  218 

Cartuja  de  Miraflores, Volume  II,  205,  208 

Casa  del  Cordon, Volume  11,  206 

Castle  at,     .     .     .     Volume  II,  193,  204,  206,  207,  210-21 1 

Cathedral,     Volume  I,  136;  Volume  II,  70,  195,  198-203,  211 

Chapel  of  Constable,     Volume  I,   11;   Volume  II,  202- 

203,  205 

Lantern, Volume    II,    200-201 

Spires, Volume     II,     200-201 

Las  Huelgas,     .     Volume  I,   122;   Volume  II,   196-198,  210 

Puerta   Sta.   Maria, Volume  II,  206 

St.    Nicholas,     . Volume  II,  203 

St.    Estaban, Volume   II,   203 

San    Gil, Volume    II,    203 

Burgundy, Volume   I,    147,    148 

Mary    of, Volume     I,     147 

Philip,  the  Good,  of, Volume  II,  262 

281 


INDEX 

Burke, Volume  II,  173,  194 

Byzantine   Scholars, Volume  I,  73,  74 

Workmen,     Volume  I,  73,  84,  85,  87,  108,  305;  Volume  II, 

5»  9,  32 
Byzantium, Volume  I,  55,  68;   Volume  II,  102 

Caat, Volume     I,    45 

Cadiz, Volume  I,  17;  Volume  II,  35,  48 

Cairo, Volume  I,  89,  292 

Calderon, Volume   I,   8,    171 ;    Volume   II,   156 

Maria, Volume    I,    169 

Caliph  of  the  West, Volume  II,  10 

Calpe, Volume    I,   62 

Campeador,  El.     See  The  Cid. 

Capilla   Mayor, Volume   I,   135 

Carlists, Volume  I,  22,  191 ;  Volume  II,  249 

Carlos,  Infante   (Son  of  Philip  II.),     Volume  I,  159,  160,  271; 

Volume  II,  234 

Baltasar,    Infante, Volume    I,    170,    173 

Don    (Spanish   Pretender),     Volume   I,    191,    192;    Volume 

II,  249 

Carpetanians, Volume  I,  200 

Carpets,   Arabian, Volume   I,  71,   113,  200,  201 

Carrion,    Princes    of, Volume    I,   243 

Carthage,     .      .      .     Volume  I,  vii,  15,  16,  103;  Volume  II,  246 
Carthaginians,  .      .     Volume  I,   14,   17;   Volume  II,  36,  246 

Castles,  Spanish,     .     .      .     Volume  I,  138;  Volume  II,  182,  216 
Castile,     Volume  I,  91,  119- 120,  128,  129,  130,  139-140,  145,  149; 
Volume  II,  30,  34,  61,  64,  92,  97,  99,  131,  175-177, 
182,    184-187,    192-222,    226,   227,   245,   258,   266-267 

Castro,  Juana  de, Volume  II,  67 

Catalans, Volume     II,     245-265 

Catalonia,     Volume  I,  7,  129,  169;  Volume  II,  229,  233,  245-265 
Catalonian   Style    (Architecture),     ....     Volume   II,  253 

282 


INDEX 

Catherine    of    Aragon    (Daughter    of    Ferdinand    and    Isabella) 

Volume  I,  147,  159 

Cava,  La, Volume   I,  45 

Celtic  Traits, Volume  I,   14 

Invasion, Volume  I,  vii,  14 

Celtiberians Volume  I,  14;  Volume  II,  223 

Celts, Volume  I,   13,  14,   I5 

Central  America, Volume  I,  2,  12,  13 

Ceramics,   Museums   of, Volume   I,    112 

Cervantes, Volume  I,  8,  171;  Volume  II,  79 

Ceuta, Volume    I,    45 

Chaldea Volume     I,    82 

Chaldeans, Volume    I,    vii,    71 

Charlemagne,     ....      I'olumc  I,  -35  J  Volume  II,  172,  225 

Charles  V.(I.  of  Spain),  Volume  I,  22,  148,  149,  152-163,  265-270; 

Volume  II,  78,   137,  142-144,   148-151,  191,  208-209, 

220,  233-234,  258,  261-263,  269 

II.,    Volume  I,  167,  175-177;  Volume  II,  161,  163-165,  209-210 

III.,     .     .     .     Volume  I,  182,  184-186;  Volume  II,  165,  169 

IV.,     .      .     .     Volume  I,  186-189,  190-192;  Volume  II,  167 

Archduke,  of  Austria,     Volume  I,  179,  180;  Volume  II,  166, 

238,  249 
I.    (England),     .     .     Volume   I,    167;    Volume   II,   156-157 

VIII.    (France), Volume   II,  206 

Chartres, Volume    II,    201 

Chess, Volume  II,  55 

Chindaswind, Volume  I,  118 

Choirs, Volume    I,     I34-I35 

Christian  Kings,       ....     Volume  I,  viii,  100,  loi,  1 18-198 

Period  of, Volume  I,  viii,  1 18-196 

Churriguerra, Volume  I,  132,  195,  215 

Cid,  The,     Volume  I,   119,   120,  241,  243;   Volume  II,  171,   184, 

192-195,  206,  226,  265-269 
283 


INDEX 

Cisneros.     See  Ximenes. 

Civilization,  Byzantine, Volume  I,  107 

Saracenic,     Volume  I,  48,  67-89,  107,  114-117,  233-237;  Vol- 
ume II,  34,  91 

Visigothic, Volume   I,   51-57,   115 

Clara  Eugenia,  Infanta  (Daughter  of  Philip  11. ),  Volume  I,  160 

Clavijo, Volume    II,    174 

Clepsydra, Volume    I,     234 

Clovis, Volume   I,   28 

Coins,  Greek, Volume  I,   15 

Iberic, Volume  I,  i6 

Columbus,     .     Volume  I,  256;  Volume  II,  77,  216,  220,  259-261 

Columela, Volume    I,   25 

Complutensian  Polyglot  Bible, Volume  II,  135 

Conde, Volume   I,   53 

Constance  of   Burgundy, Volume   I,  241 

Constantinople, Volume  I,  59,  73,  84 

Emperor  of,     .     .     .     Volume  I,  304-305;  Volume  II,  5,  10 

Constantine, Volume    I,    20 

Construction,  Saracenic  (Architecture),     .     .     .     Volume  I,  80 

Contreras,  Archbishop, Volume  I,  257 

Rafael, Volume    II,    94 

Cordova,    Volume  I,  64,  78,  89,  93,  96,  99,  100,  103-104,  229,  248, 
280-309;  Volume  II,  1-33,  34,  63,  175,  176 

Alcazar  at, Volume  II,  3,  32 

Bridge  at, Volume  I,  281,   283,  294 

Castle  of  Roderick  at, Volume  I,  288 

Gonsalvo  de,     .     Volume  I,  144,  145,  280;   Volume  II,  129 
Kingdom  of,     Volume  I,  90,  96-99,  108,  248,  280-309;  Volume 

II,  1-33,  42,  48,  85 

Mosque  at.     Volume  I,  107,  281,  291,  298,  308;  Volume  II,  9, 

15,  18,  27-29,  30-31,  32-33,  57-58,  94-95 

Arches    of, Volume    I,    297-298 

Columns  of.    Volume  I,  296,  297;  Volume  II,  18,  28,  29 
284 


INDEX 

Cordova,  Maksurah   in, Volume  II,  28,   29 

Mirab,     ....      Volume  I,  296;   l^olume  II,  18-21 

Pulpit, Volume   II,   21 

Public- Works,  Volume  I,  287,  299,  300,  306;  Volume  II,  1-3 

Royal  Villas, Volume  II,  4 

Rusafah  at, Volume  I,  289;   Volume  II,  3 

Scholarship, Volume     I,     288-289 

Villa  Az  Zahra, Volume  II,  4,  9,  10,  15,  29 

Mosque  at, Volume  II,  7>  8 

Wealth   of, Volume   II,    15-16 

Coro Volume    I,     135 

Corunna,  Tower  at Volume  I,  23 

Covadonga, Volume  II,   171 

Crete,  Candia, Volume  I,  304 

Cristo  de  la  Luz  (Toledo),     .     Volume  I,  206,  236-237,  240,  245 

Cronica  del  Rey  Rodrigo, Volume  I,  222 

Cross-fertilization, Volume     I,     5 

Crowns,  Gothic, Volume  I,  52-57,  209 

Cueva,  Beltran  de  la, Volume  I,   128 

Cupola.     See  Dome. 

Curly  Hair, Volume  I,  4 

Damascus,    Volume  I,  58,  59,  65,  66,  67,  yZy  78,  90,  92,  284,  287, 

288,  305;  Volume  II,  39,  42 

Dauphiny, Volume  I,  148 

"  Day  of  the  Foss," Volume  I,  231,  232,  300 

Design,  Saracenic,     .     Volume  I,  72,  JZy  247;  Volume  II,  105-106 

Directory    (France), Volume    I,    187 

Dolichocephalic  Traits, Volume   I,   3,   26 

Domes,    Volume   I,  83-86,    108,   136,  236;    Volume  II,  94,   142, 

213-214 

Bulbous, Volume  I,  86 

Byzantine, Volume  I,  84-86 

Gothic, Volume  II,  213-214 

Moslem, Volume  I,  85 

285 


INDEX 

Domes,  Stalactite,     .      .      .     Volume  I,  87;  Volume  II,  103-104 

Semi-, Volume  I,  86 

Doria,  Andrea, Volume  II,  263 

Drama,  Spanish, Volume  II,  79 

Eboli,  Princess  of, Volume  II,  236 

Edward  I.  (England),     .     .      .     Volume  I,  123;  Volume  II,  198 

of  England  (The  Black  Prince),    Volume  I,  125,  126;  Vol- 
ume II,  68-69,  204 

Egica, Volume  I,  43 

Egilona,     ....     Volume  I,  67,  218-221;  Volume  II,  40-41 

Egypt, Volume  I,  58,  68,  jz,  77,  85,  86 

Egyptians, Volume  I,  6,  12,  91 

Eleanor  of  Castile,       .     .     .     Volume  I,  123;  Volume  II,  198 

Plantagenet,     ,      .     Volume  I,  123;  Volume  II,  I95-I97,  198 
Elizabeth  of  England,     .     .      .     Volume  I,  159;  Volume  II,  235 

(Isabel)  of  Bourbon  (Qneen  of  Philip  IV.),     Volume  I,  167. 

169,  170,  172,  209 

(Isabel)  of  Valois  (Queen  of  Philip  II.),     .     Volume  I,  160 

(Isabel)  Farnese,         .     .      .     Volume  I,  181,  182,  184,  186 
El  Gran  Capitan.    See  Cordova,  Gonsalvo  de. 

El  Nodo, Volume  II,  66 

El  Transito  (Toledo), Volume  I,  258 

Elvira, Volume  II,  85 

(Daughter  of  Fernando   I.   of  Castile),     .     Volume  I,  II9 

120;  Volume  II,  184 

Ely, Volume     I,     261 

Emesa, Volume     II,     42 

Emirs,    The, Volume   I,   90-95 

Emporias, Volume  I,  16 

England, Volume  I,   159 

Ephesus,   Pottery  found   in,      .     .     .      ,      .      .     Volume   I,   112 

Erminigild, Volume  I,  31-35;  Volume  II,  38 

Ervigius, Volume    I,   42,    43 

286 


INDEX 

Escobedo, Volume     II,  236 

Escorial,  The, Volume  I,  163;  Volume  II,  152 

Eugenius   (Archbishop),     .     .      .     Volume  I,  202-203,  207,  270 

Euric, Volume  I,  204 

Fadrique,  Don,     .     Volume  I,  125,  258,  259;  Volume  II,  69,  218 

False    Arch, Volume    I,    84 

Ferdinand  I.,  of  Aragon, Volume  I,   130 

V.  (The  Catholic),  Volume  I,  106,  128,  130,  137,  139-151, 
155,  156,  157,  264;  Volume  II,  75-76,  121,  127,  128, 
131-133,    141,   148,    191,  212,  216,  219-220,  233,   247, 

258-261 

VI.,     .* Volume  I,  183,  184 

VIL, P^olume  I,    186- 191 ;    Volume  II,   167 

Infante    (Brother   of   Charles   V.),     Volume    148,    154,   156; 

Volume  II,  148 

Fernanda  (Sister  of  Isabella  II.),     •      •      •     Volume  I,  193,  194 

Fernando,  Gonzalez   (of  Castile),    Volume  II,  175-176,  192,  206 

I.  (of  Castile),     .     Volume  I,  119;  Volume  II,  177,  183-184 

III.    (St.   Ferdinand),     Volume  I,    123,   124,   129,  248,  249; 

Volume  II,  30,  31,  32,  61-65,  71,  91,  187,  188,  198, 

217,  230 

Flanders, Volume  I,  153,  156,  212,  270 

Florinda, Volume  I,  44,  217 

France,     Volume  131,  133,  145,  I49,  161,  169,  177,  179,  187,  270; 
Volume  II,  226,  238-239,  245-247,  248,  249,  270 

Franks, Volume   I,   26,   28,   50 

Fueros, Volume    II,    231-232,    251 

Gades.     See  Cadiz. 

Galesvintha, Volume    I,    29 

Galiana,  Legend  of, Volume  I,  235 

Galicia,     Volume  I,   119,    120,  265;    Volume   II,    174,    I75,    ^77* 

184-185 
287 


INDEX 

Garcia   (Son  of  Fernando  I.  of  Castile),     Volume  I,  119,  120; 

Volume  II,  184 

Gaul, Volume    I,    26,   28 

Gaunt,  John  of, Volume  II,  70 

Generalife, Volume   II,    112,    117,    118 

Genoa, Volume    II,    267 

Gerona, Volume    II,   253 

Geryon, Volume     I,     vii 

Gibel    Tarik, Volume   I,  62 

Gibraltar, Volume  I,  45,  62;  Volume  II,  120 

Glass,  Coloured,     .      .     Volume  I,  162,  251,  254;  Volume  II,  74 
Giralda    (Seville),    Volume   I,   no;    Volume   II,   58-60,  63,  72, 

80-82,  83,  242-243 

Colour   of, Volume   II,   59 

Minaret, Volume    II,   80-82 

Statue, Volume    II,    81-82 

Godoy, Volume  I,  186,  187,  188,  191,  192 

Golden  Fleece,  Chapter  of, Volume  II,  261-263 

Order  of, Volume  II,  261-262 

Gorza,  John  of, Volume  II,   11-13 

Gosvinda, Volume   I,   29,  31,  32,  207 

Gothic  Code, Volume   I,  39 

Goya, Volume    I,    190,    191 

Granada,     ....     Volume  I,  91 ;  Volume  II,  65,  84-146,  150 
Alhambra.     See  Alhambra. 

Alcazaba  at, Volume  II,  85,  88,  89,  121 

Bib-al-Rambla, Volume  II,  116,  135,  138 

Cathedral, Volume   II,   141 

Chapel   Royal, Volume    I,     141-142 

Sagrario  of Volume  II,  94.  150 

Generalife.     See  Generalife. 

Great  Mosque, Volume  II,  93-95,  141,   i4.3 

Kassabah.     See  Alcazaba. 

288 


INDEX 

Granada,  Kingdom  of,    Volume  I,  90,  103-107,  109-110,  140,  158, 

166,  293;  Volume  II,  61,  68 

Luxury  at, Volume  II,  120 

Material  Prosperity,     Volume  II,  99,  loi,  115-116,  ii7,  14° 

Puerta  Elvira, Volume  II,  88 

Rapid  growth  of Volume  II,  90 

Scientific  School  in, Volume  II,  loi 

Tournaments  at, Volume  II,  116 

University  at, Volume  II,  119 

Greece Volume   I,    IS,   68 

Greeks, Volume  I,  2,  14,  305 

Guadalajara, Volume  I,  100 

Palacio  del  Infantado  at, Volume  I,  li 

Guadalete, Volume  46,  47,  62,  226 

Guadalquivir,     .     .     .     Fo/wm^  I,  289;  Fo/r^m^  II,  43-44,  48,  61 

Guadiana, Volume    I,  23 

Guarrazar, Volume  I,  52,  53,  S6,  229 

Guesclin,  Bertrand  du, Volume  I,  125,   126 


Habus, Volume  II,  85-86 

Hadrian, Volume   I,    18,   36 

Hannibal, Volume    I,    200,   201 

Hausa  Peoples, Volume  I,  3,  6 

Hegiag,  Yussef  Abul.     See  Yussef  I. 

Hegira,    The, Volume    I,   80 

Henrietta    (of  France), Volume  II,    I57 

Henry  11.  (Trastamara),  Volume  I,  125-127;  Volume  II,  68,204 
IV.  (El  Impotente),     Volume  I,  118,  127,  128,  255;  Volume 

II,  148,  205 

II.   (England), Volume  I,  123 

VIII.    (England), Volume  I,  147 

II.   (France) Volume    I,    160 

289 


INDEX 

Henry  IV.  (of  France),  Volume  I,  40,  159,  167,  173;  Volume  II, 

157,  230 
Heraldry,  Spanish,     .      .      Volume  I,  261 ;   Volume  II,  191,  263 

Hercules,  Legend  of, Volume  I,  222-225 

Hernandez,  Gonsalvo.     See  Cordova,  Gonsalvo  da. 

Herrera, Volume  I,  163,  268 

Heterogenity   in    Spain, Volume   I,   4 

Hildesheim, Volume   I,   53 

Hispalis.     See  Sephela. 

Hixem  I., Volume  I,  293-300,  308 

II., Volume  I,  96,  97 

HI., Volume    II,    23-25 

Holland, Volume    I,    148 

Homogenity  in  Spain, Volume  I,  4,  5 

Honorius, Volume   I,    19 

Hospital,  Sta.  Cruz  (Toledo),     .      .     .     Volume  I,  150,  263-264 

Huesca, Volume    I,     105 

Hume, •  .     .     .     .     Volume  I,  6,   139 

Hyacinth, Volume    I,    53 

Iberians,     Volume  I,  i,  2,  3,  5,  6,  7,  8,  9,  12,  14,  26,  199,  200,  279, 

282;  Volume  II,  36,  85-86 
Ildefonso,  Bishop  of  Toledo,     .      .     Volume  I,  49,  209-212,  273 

Chapel  of, Volume  I,  255,  256 

He  de  France, Volume  I,  50;  Volume  II,  188 

India, Volume  I,  2,  9,  12,  13 

Indians, Volume    II,    259 

Industrial  Arts,     Volume   I,    IS,    IH-115,    130-131,   162,   163-164; 

Volume  II,  115 

Saracenic, Volume  I,  71,  96,  iii,  115 

Infantado,  Duke  of, Volume  I,  269 

Ingunda, Fo/wm^  I,  31,  32;  Fo^Mm^  II,  38 

Inquisition,  The,     Volume  I,  141,  I45,  I54,  I57,  185;  Volume  II, 

76-77,  134-140,  163-165,  237,  258,  269 
290 


INDEX 

Iron-work, Volume  I,  113,  263;   Volume  II,  80 

Irving,  Washington,     .     .     Volume  I,  107-108;  Volume  II,  128 

Isabella,  Empress  (Queen  of  Charles  V.),  Volume  I,  154,  155,  268 

Of  Portugal  (Mother  of  Isabella  I.),     .     .     Volume  I,  127 

I.  (The  Catholic),     Volume  I,  106,  126,  127,  128,  130,  137,  I39- 

151,  155,  156,  173,  191,  260-265;   Volume  II,  74,  75 

128,  129,  131-133,  141,  148,  191,  205,  206,  207,  212,  216, 

219-220,  233,  247,  258-261 

Infanta  (Daughter  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella),     Volume  I, 

146,  147;  Volume  II,  75-76 
II.,     .     .     Volume  I,  191-193;  Volume  II,  145,  158,  168-169 
Ishbiliah.     See  Sephela. 

Ishmail-al-Ferag, Volume    II,    96-99 

Isidro,  Bishop  of  Seville,     .     Volume  I,  49;  Volume  II,  38,  51, 

183,  ^84 
St.  Church  of,  at  Leon,     .      .      .     Volume  II,  51-52,  183-184 
Ispola.     See  Sephela. 

Italians, Volume    I,    2 

Italica, Volume  I,  18,  23,  36 

Italy,     Volume  I,  19,  74,  130,  145,  149,  I55,  161,  168;  Volume  II, 

231 
Ivories,    Carved, Volume  I,  113 


Jaen, Volume  I,  104-105;  Volume  II,  10 

Jaime  I.,  of  Aragon  (El  Conquistador),     Volume  I,  129;  Volume 

II,  228-231,  233,  250,  269 

James  I.  (England), Volume  I,  167 

Jeanne  of  Navarre, Volume  I,  159 

Jewel  Work, Volume    I,    52 

Jews,    Volume  I,  38,  39,  43,  44,  61,  74,  94,  95,  98,  115-117,  124,  198, 

227,  245,  248;  Volume  II,  46,  47,  84-85,  86,  88,  98,  99 

Juan  II.,     .      .      .     Volume  I,  127,  259,  268;  Volume  II,  70,  218 

Tomb  of, Volume    II,    205 

291 


INDEX 

Juan,  Infante  (Son  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella),  Volume  I,  146; 
Volume  II,  75,  128-129,  132,  206,  207,  260 
Don  (of  Austria,  son  of  Charles  V.),     Volume  I,  158;  Vol- 
ume II,  139,  235-236 
Don  (of  Austria,  son  of  Philip  IV.),     Volume  I,  169,  172, 

176;  Volume  II,  164 

Juana,  of  Portugal, Volume  I,  128 

(Crazy  Jane,  Daughter  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella),  Volume 
I,  147,  148,  264-266;   Volume  II,  141-142,  149,  207- 

208,  233 
(La  Beltraneja),     Volume  I,  128,  139,  261;  Volume  II,  14S 

Julian,  Count, Volume  I,  44,  45 

Julia   Romulea, Volume   II,   36 

Julius  Caesar, Volume  I,  17;  Volume  II,  35,  36 

Justa,  St., Volume  II,  37,  51.  82 

Kabyls, Volume  I,  3,  6 

Kairouan Volume  I,  287 

Mosque  of  Okbar  at, Volume  I,  89,  292 

Kal'  at  Al-hamra, Volume  II,  90 

Karnattah, Volume  II,  85 

Kiblah.     See  Mirab. 

Koran, Volume   I,   70 

Othmanic, Volume  II,  21-22,  30 

Lafuente, Volume  I,  283 

Languedoc, Volume  I,  148 

Layard, Volume  I,  112 

Layth,    Abu, Volume    II,   60 

Leandro  (Archbishop),     .      .      .     Volume  I,  32;  Volume  II,  38 

Leather,  Cordovan, Volume  I,  114 

Le  Mans, Volume  II,  189 

Lepanto, Volume  II,  235 

292 


INDEX 

Leocadia,   St., Volume  I,  203,  209,  210,  270 

Leopold  I.  (of  Austria), Volume  I,  170-171,  i77 

Leon, Volume   II,   I77,   181-191 

Cathedral  at,     Volume  I,  136;  Volume  II,  182,  188-190,  199, 

254 

Old  Cathedral  at, Volume  II,  182 

Kingdom  of,     Volume  I,  119,  120;  Volume  II,  30,  51,  I75-I77, 

184-192 

San  Marcos, Volume    II,    190-191 

Leovigild, Volume  I,  30-36,  207;  Volume  II,  38 

Lerma,  Duke  of,     ....     Volume  I,  165;  Volume  II,  221-222 

Levi,  Samuel, Volume  I,  258 

Lisbon, Volume  II,  48 

Literature,  Arabic, Volume  I,  69,  70,  72,  74,  116 

Gothic, Volume  I,  49 

Greek, Volume  I,  73 

Roman, Volume  I,  24-25,  73 

Spanish, Volume   I,  8,    123 

Liturgy,  Gothic, Volume  I,  242,  243 

Mozarabe.     See  Liturgy,  Gothic. 

London,  Royal  Gallery  at, Volume  I,  172 

Lope  de  Vega, Volume  I,  171 

"  Las  Meninas," Volume  I,  174 

Louis  Xin.  (France),     .     .     .     Volume  I,  167;  Volume  II,  248 
XIV.  (France),     .     Volume  I,  168,  173,  177;  Volume  II,  248 

XVL  (France), Volume  I,  187 

Philippe    (France), Volume   I,   193,   195 

Louvre, Volume  I,  16,  173 

Lucan, Volume   I,   25 

Luna,  Alvaro  de,     Volume  I,  127,  259,  260;  Volume,  II,  218-219 

Tomb  of, Volume  I,  259,  260 

Lusitania, Volume   I,    64 

Maadites, Volume    I,    93 


INDEX 

Madrid,  Volume  loo,  i8o,  185,  186,  195;  Volume  II,  147-170,  236, 

238,  240 

Atocha,  Church  of, Volume  II,  161 

Alcazar  at,     ...      .     Volume  11,  148,  151,  153,  157,  165 
Buen  Retiro.     See  Buen  Retire. 

Cathedral, Volume   II,    151 

Impoverishment  of, Volume  II,   151-152 

Plaza  Mayor, Volume  II,   157,   158,   163 

Plaza  Oriente, Volume  II,  155 

Prado  Museum, Volume  I,  171,  172,  174 

Salon  del, Volume  II,  156,  167,  169 

Puerta  del  Sol, Volume  II,  147 

Royal  Armory  at, Volume  I,  52 

Royal   Palace  at,     ...      .     Volume   II,   165-166,   167-168 

Unica   Corte, Volume   II,    150 

Water  Supply, Volume  II,  163 

Mahomet, Volume  I,  58,  59,  68-71,  98,  290 

Al-Hamar,     Volume    I,    104,    105;    Volume   II,   62,   84,    88- 

92,  TGI 

Abdul-Kasin, Volume    II,    49 

I.     See  Mahomet  Al-Hamar. 

II., Volume  II,  92-93 

III., '     .     .      .     Volume     II,    93-06 

v., Volume  II,  11 1,  113 

VL, Volume  II,  113-115 

VII., Volume  II,  120 

Majorca, Volume   I,    130 

Maksurah, Volume  I,  79 

Malaga, Volume  II,    126-127 

Malikites, Volume  I,  299-304 

Marcus  Aurelius, Volume  I,  18,  19 

Marguerite  of  Austria   (Daughter  of  Alaximilian),     Volume  I, 

146,  21C6-207 
Of  Austria  (Queen  of  Philip  III.),     .     .     .     Volume  I,  167 
294 


INDEX 

Marguerite,  Infanta   (Daughter  of  Philip  IV.),     Volume  I,  174 

Maria  (Daughter  of  Philip  III.), Volume  I,  167 

Christina  of  Austria  (2nd  Queen  of  Alfonso  XII.),     Volume 

I,  195 

Mariana,     .  .     Volume  I,  vii,  32,  213,  291;  Volume  II,  180 

Marianne  of  Austria,     Volume  I,  170,  171,  174-177,  272,  274-278; 

Volume  II,  164 
Maria  Theresa,  Infanta,     Volume  I,  170,  171,  173,  174;  Volume 

II,  248 

de  Guzman, Volume  I,  125 

Marie  Christine  of  Naples  (Queen  of  Ferdinand  VII.),     Volume 

I,  191,  192,  193 

Louise  of  Orleans  (Queen  of  Charles  II.),  Volume  I,  176, 

177;  Volume  II,  161,  209-210 

Louise  of  Savoy  (Queen  of  Philip  V.),     Volume  I,  179,  180^ 

182,  183;  Volume  II,  264 

Louise  of  Parma  (Queen  of  Charles  IV.),     Volume  I,  186, 

192 

Mary  Tudor, Volume  I,  159 

Maurice,  Archbishop  (of  Burgos),     .     .     .     Volume  II,  198-199 

Mauritania, Volume  I,   108;   Volume  II,  55 

Mauritanians.     See  Moors, 

Maximilian  of  Austria, Volume  I,  146,  147,  149 

in.    (Hungary), Volume    I,    167 

Mazarin, Volume  I,   168 

Mecca,  .  .  .  Volume  I,  70,  76,  77,  78,  79;  Volume  II,  19,  98 
Medicis,  Catherine  de,  .  .  .  Volume  I,  160;  Volume  II,  235 
Medina  (Syria), Volume  I,  58;  Volume  II,  42 

Sidonia,  Duke  of, Volume  I,  169 

Mediterranean  Race, Volume  I,  i,  2,  3,  60 

Mendoza,  Cardinal,  .  .  .  Volume  I,  143,  144,  255,  256,  263 
Mercedes  (Queen  of  Alfonso  XII.),     .      .     Volume  I,  194,  195 

Merida, Volume  I,  23,  64,  293;  Volume  U,  ig 

Milan,  Cathedral  at,     ...     .     Volume  I,  250;  Volume  II,  74 

295 


INDEX 

Milan,    San   Lorenzo, Volume   I,    84 

Mimber, Volume  I,  79 

Minaret, Volume  I,    76,    80 

At  Cordova, Volume  II,  9 

At  Seville, Volume  I,   no;  Volume  II,  10 

Minarets,    North   Africa, Volume   I,    no 

Minstrelsy,    Catalonian, Volume   II,   257 

Mirab, Volume  I,  76,  78 

At  Cordova, Volume  I,  296 

Miradero  (Toledo), Volume  I,  214 

Montfort,  Simon  of,     .......     .     Volume  II,  229 

Montpellier, Volume  II,  229 

Montpensier,  Due  de, Volume  I,  192,  193,   194 

Moors, Volume  I,  vii,  viii,  45,  47,  58-89,  225 

Moriscos,  .  Volume  I,  158,  166;  Volume  II,  134,  137-140,  270 
Mosaic,  Mineral,  .  .  Volume  I,  87,  iii;  Volume  II,  20,  115 
Moslem  Conquest.     Volume  I,  41,  226-229,  282;  Volume  II,  39, 

84,  181 

Period,  Volume  I,  viii,  90-117,  229-237,  282-309;  Volume  II, 

1-30,  39-63.  84-131,  246 
Mosque,  at  Cordova.     See  Cordova. 

At  Seville.    See  Seville. 

Mosques, Volume  I,  76-89 

Motamid, Volume  I,  100,  loi ;  Vohime  II,  49-56 

Mozarabes, Volume  I,  95;  Volume  II,  46,  47 

Mt.    Zagros, Volume    I,   82 

Mulay  Abul  Hassen, Volume  II,  121-127 

Mahomet, Volume  II,  138-139 

Murillo, Volume  I,  8;  Volume  II,  80 

Murcia Volume  I,  9i»  129,  293 

Murviedo, Volume    I,    23 

Musa-ben-Nosier,  .  .  Volume  I,  59-67;  Volume  II,  39f  40>  41 
Must-Arab.    See  Mozarabes. 


296 


INDEX 

Narbonne, Volume,  I,  296,  299 

Naples, Volume  I,  182,  184;  Volume  II,  264 

Capodimonte  at, Volume  I,  185 

Napoleon,     Volume  I,  187-189,  279;  Volume  II,  145,  167,  168,  210, 

239,  264,  273 

Nassir, Volume  I,  307 

Navarre, Volume  I,  129 ;  Volume  II,  226,  229 

King  of, Volume  II,  26-27 

Navas  de  Tolosa,     Volume  I,  103,  121,  123,  248;  Volume  II,  197 

Naves, Volume    I,    S3 

Netherlands,  Persecutions  in,  Volume  I,  158 ;  Volume  II,  235-236 
New  York,  Madison  Square  Tower,     ....     Volume  II,  81 

Nicea,  Creed  of, Volume  I,  27,  204 

Nimrud Volume  I,  82 

Normans,  Invasion  of, Volume  II,  48 

Northern  Frontier,  The, Volume  II,  171-191 

Numantia,  Siege  of, Volume  I,  189 

Numidians, Volume    I,    2 

Obeydallah, Volume    I,   303-304 

Oceanica Volume   I,   2,    12,    13 

Olivares,   Duke   of, Volume   I,    167-169,   178 

Omeya, Volume  I,  92,  96,  99,  281,  284 

Omeyad  Dynasty,  Fall  of.     Volume  I,  96-99,  284;  Volume  II,  48 

Oppas, Volume   I,   44 

Orelia, Volume    I,    47 

Ornament,     Volume  I,  9,  10,   108,  in,  133;  Volume  II,  19,  20, 

103-109,  199,  201-202 

Ball-flower, Volume   I,   254 

Churrigueresque,     Volume  I,  I95,  257;  Volume  II,  145,  202 
Dog-tooth,     .     .     .     Volume  I,  254;   Volume  II,  250,  271 

Gothic, Volume  I,  ii,  162,  202 

Greek, Volume  I,   16 

Plateresque,     ....     Volume  I,  268;    Volume  II,  202 
297 


INDEX 

Ornament,  Renaissance,     .     Volume  I,  150,  162;  Volume  II,  144 

Romanesque, Volume  I,   11 

Saracenic,     Volume  I,  72,  73,  77,  81,  247;  Volume  II,  20-21, 

32,  33,  140,  144,  250 

Inscriptions,      .  Volume   11,    105-106 

Use  of  Colour, Volume  II,  59,  107-109 

Spanish, Volume  I,   12,  13;   Volume  II,  21 

Stalactite,     ....     Volume  I,  87;  Volume  II,  103,  106 
Orthodox  Church.     See  Roman  Church. 

Osorio,  Uracca, Volume   II,  67 

Ostro-Goths, .     Volume    I,   26 

Othman, .     .      .      .     Volume    II,    21-22 

Otho,  Emperor, Volume  II,   11 

Oviedo,     ....      Volume  I,  118,   132,  212;   Volume  II,   175 
Sta.  Maria  Naranco, Volume  I,   133 

Pacheo,  Maria  de, Volume  I,  266,  267 

Padilla,  Don  Juan  de, Volume  I,  265,  266 

Maria   de,     .      .      .      .     Volume   I,    125;    Volume   II,  67-70 

Daughters  of, Volume  II,  70 

Salon    of, Volume    II,    74 

Palafox, Volume  II,  239 

Palermo, Volume   I,    299 

Painters,    Spanish, Volume    I,    8,    155 

Paris,  Cluny  Museum  at, Volume  I,  52,  209 

Cathedral  at, Volume  I,  251,  253 

Pedro  I.  (El  Cruel),     Volume  I,  125,  126,  142,  258,  259;  Volume 

II,  66-70,  112,  113,  204,  218 

III.  (Aragon), Volume    II,    232 

IV.  (Aragon), Volume    II,    232-233 

Pelayo, Volume   I,    118;    Volume  IT,    171 

Pendentives, Volume    I,    84 

Peninsular  War,     Volume  I,  188,  189,  279;  Volume  II,  145,  167, 

183-184,  210-21 I,  238-240,  270 
298 


INDEX 

Perez,  Antonio, Volume    II,    234-237 

Persia, Volume  I,  58,  68,  77,  82,  84,  86,  87 

Petronilla, Volume    II,    24J7 

Petrus  Petri, Volume  I,  249 

Philip  I.    (Husband  of  Crazy  Jane),    Volume  I,  147,  148,  264; 

Volume  II,  141-142,  207-208 

IL,     Volume  I,  152-164,  165,  166,  168,  175,  244,  268,  270-271 ; 
Volume  II,  78-79,   138-139,  150-151,  152,  208-9,  221, 

234-237,  263 

III.,     Volume  I,  161,  165-168;  Volume  II,  151,  154  I57,  269 

IV.,  Volume  I,  165,  167-178;   Volume  II,  151,  152,  I54,  I55- 

156,  157,  158,  209,  238,  248,  27c 

V.    (Bourbon),     Volume  I,   177,   179-183,   184,   191;   Volume 
II,  145,  165,  166,  167,  238,  249,  264 

Duke  of  Parma, Volume    I,    182 

Phoenicia, Volume  1,  vii,  15;  Volume  II,  35,  Z7 

Phoenicians, Volume  I,  14;  Volume  II,  246,  265 

Pillars   of   Hercules, Volume    I,    I 

Pisa    (Spanish   Historian)  Volume   I,   206 

Pisa, Volume   II,   267 

Pomponius  Mela Volume  I,  25 

Portugal,     Volume  I,  7,  15.-  4i,  47,  Uo,  I39,  i47,  168,  169;  Vol- 
ume II,  75,  245 

Belem,  Convent  at, Volume  I,  il 

Pottery,    Celtic, Volume    I,     15 

Greek, Volume  I,   16 

Saracenic,     .      .     .     Volume   I,    112,    113;    Volume  II,    115 

Pre-Roman   Period, Volume  I,   14 

Prim, Volume    I,    193 

Printing   Presses, Volume   II,   257 

Prophet,  The.     See  Mahomet. 

Protestantism, Volume    I,    154 

Provence,    Volume  I,  26,  28,  51,  52,  56,  148,  296;  Volume  II,  229 

Provencals, Volume  I,  2 

299 


INDEX 

Puerta  del   Cambon    (Toledo), Volume   I,   212 

de  Visagra   (Toledo), Volume  I,  244,  270 

del     Sol.     (Toledo), Volume   I,   246 

Lodada  (Toledo), Volume  I,  245 

Pulgar,  Herman  Perez  del,     .     .     .     Volume  II,   129-130,   143 
Pyrenees,     Volume  I,  i,  28,  130,  132;  Volume  II,  192,  199,  226 

Quintillian, Volume     I,     25 

Rada,  Rodrigo  de,     .     .     .     Volume  I,  121,   123,  248,  250,  255 

Ramon   Berenguer   III., Volume   II,   247 

Recared  I.,    Volume  I,  30,  31,  35-40,  207,  208,  241;  Volume  II, 

38 

Recesvinthus, Volume  I,  41,  209,  210 

Reims, Volume    II,    188 

Rejas, Volume   I,   135 

Renaissance,    The, Volume    I,    74 

Republic, Volume   I,    194 

Retablo,     .     ^ Volume    I,    135 

Riano, Volume  I,   16,  54 

Richardson, Volume    I,    136 

Richelieu, Volume  I,  168 

Ripley Volume     I,    3 

Roderick,     .     .     Volume  I,  44-48,  217-227,  288;   Volume  II,  40 

Rojas, Volume  I,  218 

Cardinal, Volume    I,    256 

Rome,   Volume  I,  vii,  viii,  7,  17-25,  55,  56,  59,  82,  103,  200,  201 ; 

Volume  II,  246 
Romans,  The,  .  .  Volume  I,  14,  17-25,  81 ;  Volume  II,  181 
Roman  Period,     Volume  I,  viii,  7,  17-25,  201-204,  281;  Volume 

II,  35-37,  181 
Church,  .  .  .  Volume  I,  27,  28,  29,  32,  33,  35,  37,  38,  40 
Monuments,    Volume  I,  50,  89,  201,  202,  281,  291;  Volume 

II,  26,  38,  211,  249 
300 


INDEX 

Ronda, Volume   II,   49,    i^ 

Roofs,   Construction  of, Volume    I,     133 

Rueda,  Lope  de, Volume  II,  79 

Denis    (France)    Church  of,     .     .     .     Volume   I,  252,   253 

Gaudens, Volume  II,  81 

Gregory  of  Tours,     . Volume  I,  32 

Isidore, Volume    I,    123 

James,     .     Volume  I,  20,  202;  Volume  II,  174,  177,  I79,  228 

Juste,  St., Volume  I,  156 

Paul, Volume  I,  20,  202 

Peter, Volume     I,     202 

Rufina,  St., Volume  II,  37,  51,  82 

Sophia,  Church  of, Volume  I,  83-85 

Vincent,     .     .     Volume  I,  24;  Volume  II,  223-224,  228,  239 

Saguntum, Volume    I,    16,    202 

Salado, Volume    II,    100 

Salamanca, Volume  II,  211-217 

Casa  de  las  Conchas, Volume  II,  216 

Cathedral    (New), Volume  II,  213,  215 

(Old),     .     .     .     Volume   I,   136;    Volume   II,   213-215 
Church  of  St.  Dominick,     Volume  I,  11;  Volume  II,  215-216 

Roman  Bridge, Volume     II,     211 

Torre  del  Clave ro, Volume    II,    216 

University, Volume   II,  211-213,   216 

Facade  of,     .      .     Volume  I,  150;  Volume  II,  212,  213 

Stairway, Volume   II,   213 

Salic  Law, Volume     I,     191 

Salvatierra, Volume   I,    122 

Sancho,  The  Fat, Volume  II,  13,  14,  176 

(Son  of  Fernando  I.  of  Castile),  Volume  I,  119,  120,  238; 

Volume  II,  184-185,  193 

(The    Brave), Volume    II,   65 

San  Juan  de  los  Reyes  (Toledo),     .     .     Volume  I,  150,  261-263 

301 


INDEX 

Santiago  de  Campostella,     .     Volume  II,   173-174,   177-181,   igo 

Cathedral  at, Volume  II,  178-180 

Saragossa,     Volume  I,  100,   129,  279,  293;   Volume  II,  223-244, 

265-267,  269 

Aljaferia, Volume    II,    243-244 

Architecture, Volume    II,    240 

Old  Cathedral,  Volume  I,  24;   Volume  II,  232,  240-242,  269 

El  Pilar, Volume  II,  229,  239,  240,  242 

La  Seo.     See  Cathedral. 

The  Maid  of, Volume  II,  239 

Torre  Nueva, Volume  II,  239,  242-243 

Sardinia,     . Volume    I,    130 

Savoy, Volume  I,   148 

Schiller, Volume    I,    160 

Scipio  Africanus, Volume  I,  17;  Volume  II,  36 

Segovia, Volume   I,   23,    142 

Sephela, Volume    II,    35 

Seneca, Volume    I,    25 

Seville,     Volume  I,  15,  18,  24,  27,  32,  64,  67,  100,  loi,  102,  164, 

229,  248,  283;  Volume  II,  34-83,  91,  93,  112-113,  ISO 

Alcazar  at,     Volume  I,  258;   Volume  II,  38,  50,  57,  60,  66- 

67,  69-70,  74,  75,  77,  78 

Ayuntamiento, Volume    II,    78 

Bridge  of  Boats, Volume  II,  43,  57,  62 

Casa     Pilatos, Volume    II,    79-80 

Cathedral  at,     .     Volume  I,  250;   Volume  II,  38,  70-74,  82 

Chapel  Royal, Volume  II,  78 

Court  of  Oranges,     .      .  ...     Volume  II,  72,  82 

Giralda  at.     See  Giralda. 

Mosque   at,     ...      .     Volume   II,  46-48,   50,   57,   58,   63 
Musical  Instruments  of,     ...      .     Volume  II,  34,  45,  46 

Prosperity    of, Volume    II,    54 

Quays, Volume     II,     57 

St.  Vincent,  Church  of, Volume  II,  38,  48 

302 


INDEX 

Seville,  Torre  del  Oro, Volume  II,  57,  60 

Walls  at, Volume    II,    57,    63 

Siam, Volume     I,     12 

V  Sicily, Volume  I,  130,  I45>  168;  Volume  II,  231 

Sidi  Okbar, Volume     I,     89 

Sierra  Elvira,   Battle  of, Volume   II,   97 

Siete    Partidas, Volume    I,    124 

Silk,  Manufacture  of,     .      .     Volume  I,  112;  Volume  II,  99,  US 

Silver   Plate, Volume   II,  78 

Sisibert,    King, Volume    I,    208-209 

Solomon,   Table   of, Volume   I,   64-66 

Spain,  Unification   of, Volume   I,    140,    141,    157 

Spanish   Pride, Volume  I,  4,  8 

Squinches, Volume   I,  84 

Squinch    Construction, Volume    I,    86 

Street, Volume   I,   261;    Volume   II,    180 

Stuart,    Mary, Volume    II,    235 

Stucco,     Volume  I,  81,  86,  no,  247;  Volume  II,  29,  58,  83,  103, 

166 

Suevi, Volume  I,  26,  204 

Sumptuary    Laws, Volume    I,    163 

Syria, Volume  I,  53,  58,  72,  81,  85,  89,  305 

Tagus, Volume  I,  21,  29 

Talevera,  Archbishop,     ....      Volume  II,  133-134,  I37,  143 

Talavera  de  la  Reyna, Volume  I,  64 

Tamil-speaking  peoples,     .      .  .      .  Volume  I,  2,  12,  13 

Tarik-ben-Zeyed,     .     Volume   I,  62-66,  226-229;    Volume  II,  39 
Tarragona,     Volume  I,  23,  202;   Volume  II,  246,  253,  255,  256, 

271 

Tarub, Volume     I,     307 

Tashfin,  Yusef  ben,     .      .     Volume  I,  loi ;  Volume  II,  54-56,  87 

Tavera,  Cardinal, Volume  I,  256,  270 

Tendilla,  Conde  de,     .     .     .     .     Volume  II,   132-134,   136,   140 


INDEX 

Teutonic  Peoples, Volume  I,  2,  26,  50 

Textiles, Volume  I,  71,  112 

Theodofred,  Duke  of  Cordova,     ....     Volume  I,  43,  288 

Theodomir, Volume    I,    225 

Theodosia, Volume    I,    31,    207 

Tiles,  Encaustic,     Volume  I,  88,  iii,  247;  Volume  II,  80,  103, 

104,  242 

Titian, Volume  I,  154,  I55,  i59 

Tlemcen,  Sultan  of, Volume  II,  22 

Toledo,     Volume  I,  27,  29,  36,  38,  41,  50,  52,  64,  65,  100,  119,  120, 
143,  197-279,  286;   Volume  II,  39,  42,  63,  143,  148, 

186,  195 
Alcazar  at,  Volume  I,  162,  235-236,  244,  258,  259,  265,  267- 

270,  276,  278,  279 

Cathedral  at.     Volume  I,   136,  207,  208,  210,  211,  241,  249- 

258,  272-274,  293;  Volume  II,  70 

Cathedral,  Capilla  Mayor,      .     Volume  I,  11,  253,  255,  256 

Chapel  of  Ildefonso, Volume  I,  255 

of  San  Bias, Volume  I,  255 

of  Santiago, Volume  I,  259 

of   Sta.   Lucia, Volume   I,   254 

Coro, Volume  I,  253,  255,  256,  257 

Custodia, Volume  I,  256,  273 

Glass, Volume    I,    254 

Ground-plan, Volume    I,    251 

Ornament, Volume     I,    253-258 

Proportions, Volume    I,    252 

Sala   Capitular, Volume    I,    254 

Trasparente Volume    I,    257 

Vaults, Volume    I,    252,    253 

Cristo  de  laLuz,     .     .     Volume  I,  206,  236,  237,  240,  245 

de  la  Vega,  Church  of, Volume  I,  212 

EI    Transito, Volume    I,    258 

Hospital  Sta.  Cruz, Volume  I,  150,  263-264 

304 


INDEX 

Toledo,  Legends  of, Volume  I,  197,  198 

Miradero, Volume     I,     214 

Plaza  de  Zocodover,     ....     Volume  I,  215,  242,  272 

Puerta  del  Cambon, Volume    I,    212 

Lodada, .      .     Volume    I,    245 

del  Sol, Volume  I,  246 

de  Visagra, Volume  I,  244,  270 

Roman  Praetorium, Volume  I,  206,  213,  263 

San  Juan  de  los  Reyes,     .      .      .      Volume    I,    150,    261-263 
San  Martino,   Bridge    of,     ...      .     Volume   I,  217,  255 

Roman, Volume      I,     245 

Servando,  Castle  of, Volume  I,  243 

St.  Leocadia,  Church  of, Volume  I,  208-212 

Sta.  Maria  la  Blanca, Volume  I,  246 

Taller  del   Moro, Volume   I,   236 

Tournament    at, Volume    I,    219-221 

Treasure   taken    at, Volume    I,    228-229 

Via  Sacra, Volume  I,  240,  244 

Wall  of  Alfonso  VI., Volume  I,  244 

Wamba, Volume    I,    214,   216 

Torb,     ....     Volume  I,  119,  120,  261;  Volume  II,  184-185 

Torquemada,  Cardinal, Volume  I,  142 

(Inquisitor    General), Volume    I,    142,    143 

Torre  de  la  Barca,  Arch  of Volume  I,  23 

Torres    Bermejas, Volume   II,    90 

Toulouse,  St.  Sernin  at, Volume  II,  178,  179 

Trajan, Volume  I,  18;  Volume  II,  36 

Trascoro, Volume    I,      135 

Triana, Volume     II,     62 

Tuscan    (style),     .     .     .     Volume  I,   162;    Volume  II,   143-144 


Uracca   (Daughter  of  Fernando  I.  of  Castile),     Volume  I,   119 
Ursins,   Princess   des, Volume    I,    179-181,    183 


INDEX 

Villena,    Marques   de, Volume   I,   270 

Visigoths,  Volume  I,  vii,.viii,  26-57,  9i>  93,  94,  116-117,  166,  204- 

120;  Volume  II,  184 
Valencia,     Volume  I,  239,  243;    Volume  II,  183,  224,  226,  251, 

265-273 

Cathedral  (La   Seo), Volume    II,    270-271 

Cupola, Volume    II,     271 

Tower    (Michelete),      ....     Volume   II,   271-272 
Kingdom  of,  Volume  I,  129,  166,  239,  243,  293;  Volume  II, 

230,  233,  245 
Lonja, Volume    II,    272 

Valladolid,     .      .      .     Volume   I,    127,  265;    Volume   II,  217-222 

Cathedral, Volume    II,   221 

San  Gregorio,     ....      Volume  I,   11;   Volume  II,  220 

Sta.  Maria  La  Antigua, Volume  II,  222 

San  Pablo, Volume  II,  222 

University, Volume     II,     222 

Vandals, '     .      .      .      .     Volume  I,  vii,  204 

Vaults,     .      .     Volume  I,  133,  135,  136;  Volume  II,  213,  252,  253 
Velasquez,     Volume  I,  8,  171-174,   177;   Volume  II,  80,  154,   155 

Venus    Salambo, Volume    I,   24 

Victoria  of  England  (Queen  of  Alfonso  XIII.),     Volume  I,  195 
227,  282;    Volume   II,   2,  37,  39,   171,    181-182,  211, 

231,  245,  246 
Visigothic  Period,     Volume  I,  viii,  26-57,  204-227,  282;   Volume 

II,  37-39,  181 

Visi-Goths, Volume  I,  26 

Vittoria, Volume    I,    189 

Wadi  Kebir.    See  Guadalquivir. 
Kortubah.    See  Guadalquivir. 

Wamba, Volume  I,  40-43,  50,    213-216,    227 

Palace  of, Volume   I,  214-216 

Statue  of, Volume    I,    216 

306 


INDEX 

Wamba,  Wall  of  (Toledo), Volume  I,  214-216 

War  of  Succession,     Volume  I,   177;   Volume  II,   166,  238,  249, 

264 

Wallia, Volume   I,   27 

Walls, Volume  I,  137,  214,  216,  244 

Wellesley,  Sir  Arthur.     See  Wellington. 

Wellington,  Duke  of,     .      .      .     Volume  I,  189;  Volume  II,  210 

Wiesbaden, Volume      I,     55 

Windsor,  Chapel  of  St.  George, Volume  II,  262 

Witiza, Volume  I,  43,  44 

Wood  Carvers,  Flemish, Volume  I,   162 

Xeres  de  la  Frontera, Volume  I,  46,  48 

Ximenes,     Volume  I,   143,    144,    152,   255,   256,  263;    Volume   II, 

133-137,  148,  149 

Yahia, Volume  I,  238,  243;  Volume  II,  266-268 

Yemanites, Volume  I,  92 

York,  Edmund,  Duke  of, Volum.e  II,  70 

Yussef  I.    (Almohadan   King), Volume   II,   56 

I.    (Granada), Volume  II,   loo-ioi,   109-110 

III.    (Granada), Volume   II,   113-117 

Zahra,  Sultana, Volume  II,  4,  5,  8 

Zamora,     .      .      .     Volume  I,  119,  120,  136;  Volume  II,  184-185 

Zenil, Volume    II,    88 

Zirites,  Dynasty  of, Volume  II,  85 

Ziryab, Volume    I,    306,    307 

Zocodover,  Plaza  de  (Toledo),     .      Volume  I,  215,  242,  264,  272 
Zoraya, Volume   II,    123-124 


307 


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